Netanyahu Vows to Invade Rafah ‘With or Without A Deal’ As Ceasefire Talks Continue

By Yoni Weiss

YERUSHALAYIM – Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu pledged Tuesday to launch an incursion into the southern Gaza city of Rafah, as ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas appear to be gaining steam.

Netanyahu’s comments came hours before U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was set to arrive in Israel to advance the talks — which appear to be one of the most serious rounds of negotiations between Israel and Hamas since the war began. The deal is meant to free some of the remaining Israeli hostages still held in Gaza.

Netanyahu said Israel would enter Rafah to destroy Hamas’s battalions there regardless of whether a truce-for-hostages deal is struck.

“The idea that we will stop the war before achieving all of its goals is out of the question,” Netanyahu said, according to a statement from his office. “We will enter Rafah and we will eliminate Hamas’s battalions there — with or without a deal — to achieve a total victory.”

Netanyahu has faced pressure from his governing partners not to proceed with a deal that might prevent Israel from invading Rafah, which it says is Hamas’s last major stronghold.

The current deal being discussed, brokered by the U.S., Egypt and Qatar, would see the release of dozens of hostages in exchange for a six-week halt in fighting as part of an initial phase, according to an Egyptian official. Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel would also be released, including some serving long sentences.

Blinken, who was meeting with regional leaders in Saudi Arabia and Jordan before landing in Tel Aviv late Tuesday, urged Hamas on Monday to accept the latest proposal, calling it “extraordinarily generous” on Israel’s part.