Netanyahu vows to follow through with Rafah attack
By Matt Murphy
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel will launch an invasion of the southern Gaza city of Rafah regardless of truce talks with Hamas.
It comes amid ongoing attempts to try to reach an agreement for a ceasefire and hostage releases.
But at a meeting of hostages’ relatives, Mr Netanyahu said he would invade “with or without” a deal.
His comments follow renewed warnings by the US against a Rafah invasion unless civilians were properly protected.
In a phone call with Mr Netanyahu on Sunday, US President Joe Biden “reiterated his clear position” on Rafah, a White House statement said. Mr Biden has previously described an invasion of Rafah as a “red line”.
More than half of Gaza’s 2.5m population is in Rafah, having fled there to escape fighting in other parts of the territory. Conditions in the overcrowded city are dire, and displaced people there have spoken of a lack of food, water and medication.
The West Bank-based Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Monday that an invasion of Rafah would be the “biggest catastrophe in the Palestinian people’s history”.
Israeli sources told the Reuters news agency on Monday that plans to attack Rafah would be shelved in favour of a “sustained period of calm” if a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israeli was reached.
