International calls for a ceasefire in Gaza intensify as Israel faces warnings and diplomatic efforts. CIA Director William Burns heads to Cairo for talks on a Qatari-brokered proposal, while China urges Israel to prevent a humanitarian disaster.
After rejecting Hamas’s terms for a truce last week, Israel conducted a predawn raid in Rafah on Monday that freed two hostages and killed around 100 people.
Netanyahu hailed the operation that freed Fernando Simon Marman, 60, and Luis Har, 70, as “perfect”, while the Palestinian foreign ministry said the deaths of dozens of Gazans amounted to a “massacre”.
Netanyahu rebuffed Israel’s key ally, insisting that “complete victory” cannot be achieved without the elimination of the militants’ last battalions in Rafah.
With AFP