Netanyahu: Israel will fight with Hamas militants in Rafah as well

2024-02-04 16:44:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reconfirmed on Sunday that the army will also launch an operation in the border town of Rafah to fight Hamas militants. His comments come as concerns have grown that the introduction of ground forces into the city would cause an even more desperate situation for Palestinians who have taken refuge there, fleeing areas where fighting is taking place.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israel had destroyed most of Hamas' ground forces, but he stressed that the army would also "deal" with those remaining in southern Gaza, including the Egyptian border town of Rafah, where many Palestinians have found shelter.

In Tel Aviv, Mr. Netanyahu told a meeting of his cabinet that the army had destroyed 17 of Hamas' 24 battalions.

He said army forces were also working to destroy underground tunnels, an operation he said would take more time. As for the hostages, the Israeli prime minister said that work was underway to release them and that he would not accept any deal.

"Efforts to free the hostages continue. As I emphasized at the cabinet meeting, we will not agree to any agreement and not to any conditions. Many things that are said in the media as if we agreed with them, such as the release of terrorists, are not true," he said.

The United Nations has warned that the entry of Israeli ground forces into the town of Rafah would be too desperate for thousands of people displaced there from the town of Khan Younis and other parts of southern Gaza as the Israel-Hamas war continues. An Israeli drone strike hit a civilian car on Sunday, an eyewitness told the Associated Press news agency.

Also this Sunday, trucks carrying humanitarian aid entered the Gaza Strip through the border crossing point in the town of Rafah.

The delivery of much-needed aid to Gaza's 2.3 million residents has been complicated following the decision by several countries to cut funding to the aid agency UNWRA.

The United States and other Western countries announced they had suspended contributions to the agency after Israel revealed that 12 of the agency's employees participated in the October 7 terrorist attacks in Israel.

Also, many experts say that if Israel's war against Hamas shifts to the town of Rafah, such an offensive could push refugees into Egypt, raising tensions even further.

The war in Gaza has flattened large parts of the small territory, displaced 85% of the population while a quarter of it is suffering from starvation.

The war broke out on October 7, when Hamas fighters crossed into Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking 250 hostages.

The Hamas attack triggered an Israeli ground and air campaign that has killed more than 27,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, who are themselves run by Hamas.

Israel says it is determined to destroy Hamas and prevent its return to power in Gaza, a territory the group has ruled since 2007./ VOA