Palestinian group issues warning as Biden says Israel should not invade without a ‘credible’ plan to protect civilians.
Hamas warned Israel that a ground offensive in Rafah would jeopardize negotiations on a truce and the exchange of captives and prisoners, with US President Joe Biden saying an attack should not take place without a plan ” credible” to protect the city’s civilians.
Humanitarian groups and foreign governments, including Israel’s main ally, the United States, have expressed deep concern over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s promise to expand military ground operations in the far south of Gaza City.
Rafah, on the border with Egypt, is the last refuge for Palestinians fleeing Israel’s relentless bombardment elsewhere in the Gaza Strip during its four-month war against Hamas, sparked by the Palestinian group’s attack from October 7.
“Any attack by the occupying army on the city of Rafah would torpedo the exchange negotiations,” a Hamas leader told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Netanyahu told troops to prepare to enter the city which is now home to more than half of Gaza’s total population, sparking concerns about the impact on displaced civilians.
A senior Biden administration official said Sunday that negotiators working on a phased framework deal to free the remaining hostages have made “real progress” in recent weeks.
The deal to release the hostages was the focus of a 45-minute phone call between Biden and Netanyahu on Sunday, although there were still “significant” gaps to be bridged, the official said, adding: “We are “We’re pretty much.”
Biden told Netanyahu that the Gaza advance should not happen in the absence of a “credible” plan to ensure “the safety” of the people sheltering there, the White House said.
Some 1.4 million Palestinians have gathered in Rafah, many living in tents as food, water and medicine become increasingly scarce.
Netanyahu told US channel ABC News that the Rafah operation would continue until Hamas was eliminated, adding that Israel would offer “safe passage” to civilians wishing to leave.
Asked where they might go, Netanyahu replied: “You know, the areas that we cleared north of Rafah, there are many areas there. But we are developing a detailed plan.
“Targeted raids”
Mediators held new negotiations in Cairo for a pause in the fighting and the release of some of the 132 hostages, according to Israel, still in Gaza, of whom 29 are believed to have died.
Hamas captured around 240 hostages on October 7, according to Israeli authorities. Dozens of people were freed during a week-long truce in November.
Hamas’ military wing said Sunday that two hostages were killed and eight others seriously injured in Israeli bombardments in recent days.
Netanyahu has faced calls for early elections and growing protests over his administration’s failure to bring the hostages home.
On Sunday, north of Rafah, the Israeli army said its troops were carrying out “targeted raids” west of Khan Younis, the main city in southern Gaza, while Hamas reported heavy clashes and said airstrikes also hit Rafah.
Hamas’ unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7 resulted in the deaths of around 1,139 people, most of them civilians, according to an Tel Aviv Tribune tally based on official Israeli figures.
Israel responded with a relentless offensive in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip that, according to the territory’s health ministry, has killed at least 28,176 people, mostly women and children.
The Israeli assault left much of the territory in ruins and displaced more than 80 percent of the population.