unsaveSave
expand-left
full screen Palestinians who fled to Rafah from Khan Yunis. Archive image. Photo: Hatem Ali/AP/TT
Israeli ground forces will enter the densely populated border town of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip – even if a deal freeing all the hostages is reached with terror-labelled Hamas, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
– Those who want to prevent us from operating in Rafah are in practice telling us to lose the war. I will not let that happen, Netanyahu said at a press conference, according to the Times of Israel.
Israel’s plans for a ground offensive in Rafah, where over a million Palestinians from other parts of the Gaza Strip have fled to escape the bombs, have been criticized by, among others, the United States, which calls on Israel to first ensure that civilians in the area are protected. But Israel will not “capitulate to international orders”, says the Prime Minister.
According to Netanyahu, there is plenty of room for Palestinians to move north of Rafah ahead of the offensive. Earlier in the war, Israel urged Palestinians to seek refuge in the southern parts of the Gaza Strip.