Benjamin Netanyahu vows to invade Rafah ‘with or without deal’

JERUSALEM/CAIRO, April 30

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Tuesday to go ahead with a long-promised assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, whatever the response by Hamas to the latest proposals for a halt to the fighting and a return of Israeli hostages.

Expectations that a ceasefire agreement could be in sight have grown in recent days following a renewed push led by Egypt to revive stalled negotiations between Israel and Hamas, Gaza’s ruling Palestinian Islamist group.

Will eliminate hamas battalions

The idea that we will halt the war before achieving all of its goals is out of the question. We will enter Rafah and eliminate Hamas battalions there. Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli PM

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However Netanyahu said with or without a deal, Israel intended to pursue the operation to destroy the remaining Hamas combat formations in Rafah, where more than 1 million Gaza Palestinians displaced from their homes amid Israeli military operations elsewhere since October have been seeking shelter.

Earlier, a person close to Netanyahu said Israel has been waiting for Hamas to respond to the latest ceasefire proposals tabled by Egypt, one of several foreign mediators, before sending a team to Cairo to continue talks.

With US Secretary of State Antony Blinken due to arrive in Tel Aviv following a visit to Riyadh to help nurture a normalisation deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel, pressure has been building for an agreement to stop the war that has devastated Gaza. — Reuters

Probe treatment of Gaza staff: UNRWA chief

• UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) chief Philippe Lazzarini on Tuesday called for countries to back an independent probe into alleged killings and detentions of its staff and damage to its premises once the Israel-Hamas conflict ends
• UNRWA has accused Israel of targeting its facilities during more than seven months of conflict in the Gaza Strip, and said 182 of its staff there had been killed and more than 160 of its shelters hit
• After briefing UN member states in Geneva, Lazzarini said he wanted the countries to back an independent investigation