AS the intense fighting continues in Gaza in the sixth month of the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) would ‘act’ in Gaza’s Rafah despite international opposition to a ground offensive in the area.
Netanyahu made the declaration in a government meeting held in Jerusalem.
‘‘Then let it be clear: If we stop the war now, before all of its goals are achieved, this means that Israel will have lost the war, and we will not allow this. Therefore, we cannot, and will not, succumb to this pressure.’’
“Those who say that the operation in Rafah will not happen are the same ones who said that we would not enter Gaza, that we will not operate in Shifa, that we will not operate in Khan Younis and that we will not resume fighting after the truce. And that’s why I repeat – we will act in Rafah. It will take a few weeks, and it will happen,’’ Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister, stated.
He also dismissed outside pressure from allies, saying it would not deter Israel.
‘‘No international pressure will stop us from realizing all the goals of the war: the elimination of Hamas, the release of all our hostages and to ensure that Gaza will no longer pose a threat against Israel,’’ Netanyahu said.
Allies of Israel, including the United States, have warned the Jewish State not to send in troops to Rafah, with concerns about mass casualties among the 1.4-M displaced people sheltering there.
The Palestinian foreign ministry called the Netanyahu remarks a ‘blatant challenge to the international and American consensus on protecting civilians’.
Netanyahu did add that the cabinet’s plans for operations in Rafah included the ‘promotion of the steps to evacuate the civilian population from the battle zones’.
Following an earlier meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the Israeli PM also stated that he would not launch a military operation in Rafah as long as the population was trapped.
Scholz called for a ‘hostage agreement and a lasting ceasefire’ in the Gaza Strip.
During the government meeting, Israel’s security cabinet also discussed its delegation’s upcoming visit to Qatar for further talks on a potential truce.
Netanyahu also again hit out at those ‘trying to bring about elections now, in the midst of the war’, after US Senate Majority leader, Democrat and the country’s top Jewish politician Chuck Schumer said a ‘new election’ was the only way and claimed Israelis had ‘lost their confidence in the vision and direction’ of the Netanyahu government’. Schumer
Netanyahu’s Likud Party hit back, saying the country was not a ‘’Banana Republic’’ and that the PM was ‘’supported by a large majority’’ of the public, saying Schumer should ‘’respect Israel’s elected government and not undermine it.’’
