Israel’s defence minister has threatened an imminent invasion of Rafah where 1.5 million Gazans are sheltering if a temporary ceasefire agreement is not reached.
Amid faltering peace talks in Egypt, Yoav Gallant warned his government was preparing to launch “a powerful operation in the very near future in Rafah and other places across all of Gaza”.
Negotiations stalled on Sunday after Hamas said it would reject any deal that failed to end the war in the Palestinian territory.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, said he cannot accept Hamas’ demands for an end to the war or the withdrawal of IDF forces from Gaza.
Israel claims Rafah, in south Gaza, is the last stronghold of Hamas, with four unharmed battalions remaining in the area, in addition to the remnants of other dismantled battalions which have fled since the ground invasion.
Mr Netanyahu has been urged by his allies, including the US, to abandon plans to launch an offensive on Rafah to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe.
Speaking to troops on Sunday, Mr Gallant said that the invasion was imminent.
“We have clear goals for this war: we are committed to the elimination of Hamas and the release of the hostages… we have identified alarming signs that Hamas actually does not intend to go for any agreement framework with us. What this means is an operation in Rafah and the entire Gaza Strip in the very near future,” he said.
On Sunday, a barrage of at least 10 projectiles was fired from Rafah towards the Kerem Shalom crossing, once a key entry point for the likes of food and aid, but currently closed for security reasons. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack, claiming it had targeted Israeli soldiers in the area.
Egyptian and Qatari mediators had been working alongside the head of the CIA, William Burns, in Cairo over the weekend to move forward a ceasefire agreement though Israel did not send a delegation.
Mr Netanyahu on Sunday said Israel has been “very generous” in its offer for a potential deal but added that Hamas “still held to its extreme positions.”
He continued: “First and foremost the withdrawal of our forces from the Strip, the conclusion of the war and leaving Hamas intact.”
Mr Netanyahu has said he is willing to pause fighting for 40 days to secure the release of hostages still being held by Hamas. But he has ruled out an end to the war until all his “aims are achieved”.
Nearly seven months into the war, less than half the 250 or more hostages taken on October 7 have been released. Many are believed to have already died in captivity.
Hamas’s political head, Ismail Haniyeh, said the terror group would only do a deal that would secure Israel’s full withdrawal from Gaza, in addition to the hostages being exchanged for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Mr Haniyeh blamed Mr Netanyahu for “the continuation of the aggression and the expansion of the circle of conflict, and sabotaging the efforts made through the mediators and various parties.”
The war was sparked on October 7 when thousands of Hamas militia invaded Israel by land, air and sea, killing 1,200 mostly civilians and taking at least 250 hostages in the deadliest single day for Jews since the Holocaust. Since then, Israel’s retaliatory bombardment has killed over 34,000 according to Hamas.
“We are not willing to accept a situation in which Hamas’s battalions leave their tunnels, reestablish control over the Strip, rebuild their military industries and go back to threatening the citizens of Israel in the communities of the Western Negev, the cities of the south and throughout the country,” added Mr Netanyahu. “In such a case, the next October 7 would only be a matter of time. Hamas would be able to realise its promise to carry out repeated massacres, rapes and abductions.”
Protests swept across Israel over the weekend. Thousands took to the streets of Tel Aviv on Saturday night to demand a ceasefire and the release of hostages, calling for the resignation of Mr Netanyahu. But on Sunday, a counter-protest was undertaken by the families of the fallen Israeli soldiers, which is now nearing 400, calling for the invasion of Rafah in a bid to secure the end of Hamas.
“The Heroic” families’ forum, made up of the families of soldiers who have died since October 7, marched to Mr Netanyahu’s office in Jerusalem with banners reading “the road to victory is via Rafah” as calls for the continuation of the war contrasted with the ceasefire calls in Tel Aviv. Several ministers joined the protest including Itamar Ben-Gvir, the Right-wing national security minister and Bezalel Smotrich, the finance minister.
