Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged to move forward with sending Israeli troops into Gaza's southernmost city of Rafah, despite deep international concerns over the risks to more than a million Palestinians who have sought refuge there.
Netanyahu said that Israel will not abandon the civilians trapped in Rafah when its forces begin a long-feared assault on Rafah.
Netanyahu To Press On With Rafah Assault Plan
During a press conference in Jerusalem with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Netanyahu said, "Our goal in eliminating the remaining terrorist battalions in Rafah goes hand in hand with enabling the civilian population to leave Rafah. We will not do it while keeping the population locked in place. In fact, we'll do the very opposite, we will enable them to leave."
The German leader warned that an Israeli attack on Rafah would make regional peace "very difficult."
Netanyahu's remarks came hours after he told a cabinet that Israeli forces would proceed with the planned ground offensive in Rafah despite concerns about mass civilian casualties.
In a video released by his office, Netanyahu claimed that no amount of international pressure would stop them from realizing all the goals of the war, which are to eliminate Hamas, release all their hostages, and ensure that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel. He noted that they will have to operate in Rafah to do this.
Furthermore, Netanyahu's remarks came as talks were expected to resume in Qatar for a truce in Gaza, where Israel has pursued a military campaign against Hamas for more than five months.
According to Al Jazeera's Tareq Abu Azzoum, reporting from Rafah, the Palestinians are "closely following" Netanyahu, who has been adamant about invading the very densely populated area.
He said that from the Palestinian perspective, under such a threat looming on the horizon, they are completely feeling unsafe, wondering about their next destination.
US President Joe Biden, who continued to support Israel despite widespread allegations of genocide, has said that an Israeli attack on Rafah would be a 'red line' if there were no credible civilian protection plans in place.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday that Washington wanted a clear and implementable plan for Rafah that would guarantee civilians are "out of harm's way."
On Friday, World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also pleaded with Israel "in the name of humanity" to refrain from attacking Rafah, the last major population center in Gaza yet to face a ground invasion since Hamas's historic October 7 attack in southern Israel.
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US Chuck Schumer Demands for New Israel Elections
US Senate Leader Chuck Schumer demanded on Thursday that Israel should hold new elections, which infuriated Netanyahu's Likud Party, which declared that Israel "is not a banana republic."
Netanyahu said new elections would stop the war and paralyze the country for at least six months. He added that if they stop the war before all of its goals are achieved, it means that Israel has lost the war, and noted that they will not allow that.
According to a statement released by Gaza's health ministry on Sunday, at least 92 Palestinians have died in the last 24 hours due to the ongoing fighting. Twelve members of the same family whose house was struck in Deir el-Balah, central Gaza, were among the dead.
