Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, on Tuesday, April 30, pledged to launch a ground attack on Rafah “with or without” a deal with Hamas.
Speaking in a meeting with families of hostages, Netanyahu said that Israel had begun the evacuation of Palestinian civilians from Rafah, according to his office.
“We will enter Rafah and eliminate Hamas battalions there, with or without a deal, to achieve the total victory,” Netanyahu said.
The New Diplomat reports that Israel considers Rafah as Hamas’s last major stronghold in the Palestinian enclave.
Rafah is Gaza’s southernmost city, where about 1.2 million Palestinians have been seeking shelter from ground and air attacks by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) since the October 7, 2023, unprecedented Hamas attacks in which about 1,200 Israelis and other nationals were killed, and over 200 seized as hostages.
Netanyahu’s remarks were made as Israeli and Hamas negotiators were in Egyptian-brokered talks on a deal for a ceasefire for the nearly seven-month-long Gaza conflict that will secure the release of hostages.
