When Will the Attack on Rafah Begin: Netanyahu Aims to Annihilate Hamas

Israel will not back down from launching an attack on the city of Rafah in southern Gaza, aiming to destroy the Hamas militant group's forces. This statement was made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“Anyone who wants to obstruct our operation in Rafah is ultimately telling us to ‘give up in the war’,” he said. “The attack will commence after we allow peaceful residents in the areas of military operations to move to safe places,” the head of the Israeli government clarified.

Additionally, Netanyahu pointed out the lack of progress in negotiations with militants mediated by Egypt and Qatar. “The Israeli side has received nothing but Hamas’s radical demands,” noted the government leader. Among these demands are a ceasefire, the preservation of the radical movement in its current form, and the release of thousands of prisoners from Israeli jails, Reuters reports.

In recent months, around 1.3 million Palestinians, who have been internally displaced, have sought refuge in Rafah.