Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared on Sunday, that Israeli forces would proceed with a planned ground operation in Rafah, located in southern Gaza. This decision has raised concerns about the potential for significant civilian casualties.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israeli troops would pursue a planned ground offensive in southern Gaza’s Rafah that has spurred fears of mass civilian casualties.
“No amount of international pressure will stop us from realizing all the goals of the war: eliminating Hamas, releasing all our hostages and ensuring that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel,” Netanyahu told a cabinet meeting in a video released by his office.
“To do this, we will also operate in Rafah.”
His comments came as talks were expected to resume in Doha towards a truce in Gaza, where Israel has pursued a campaign against Hamas militants for more than five months.
Israeli cabinet members were set to discuss the “mandate” of the negotiations team later Sunday, Netanyahu’s office has said.
He was also due to meet with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who was expected to reiterate his warning against a Rafah ground offensive.
US President Joe Biden, who has backed Israel during the war, has said an invasion of Rafah would be a “red line” unless credible civilian protection plans are in place.
The head of the UN’s World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, appealed to Israel Friday “in the name of humanity” not to launch the assault.
Netanyahu’s office said Friday he had approved the military’s plan for an operation in Rafah, though no timeline was given.
Elections Would ‘Paralyze’ Israel
On Thursday, US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called for Israel to hold new elections, sparking angry pushback from Netanyahu’s Likud party, which said Israel “is not a banana republic”.
Netanyahu on Sunday said new elections would “stop the war, and paralyze the country for at least six months”.
“If we stop the war now, before all of its goals are achieved, it means that Israel has lost the war, and we will not allow that.”
In his first public response against Schumer, Netanyahu branded the lawmaker’s remarks “totally inappropriate” and insisted most Israelis back the war.
“If Senator Schumer opposes these policies, he’s not opposing me; he’s opposing the people of Israel,” Netanyahu told CNN on Sunday.
With AFP
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