By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
JERUSALEM (Worthy News) – Israel’s military said Monday it struck sites in the Gaza city of Rafah shortly after the Israeli government decided to continue with its “Rafah operation,” likely referring to an imminent invasion of the area.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed that they conducted “precise, targeted strikes” against “Hamas terror targets” in eastern Rafah late Monday local time, despite reports the group had agreed to a ceasefire deal.
“The War Cabinet unanimously decided that Israel continues the operation in Rafah to exert military pressure on Hamas to promote the release of our hostages and the other goals of the war,” added a statement from Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
Israel also played down the likelihood of a ceasefire in Gaza on Monday after Hamas said it had accepted a proposal from mediators after it earlier rejected a deal.
Yet, The Jerusalem Post newspaper quoted a former senior Israeli security source as saying Monday that the proposed “deal” Hamas said they agreed upon doesn’t exist.
“This so-called ‘deal’ is proof that we’ve just started to apply pressure [on Hamas] by promoting a ground entrance to Rafah, and we suddenly received a green light from Hamas for a prisoner exchange deal and a ceasefire,” the source reportedly said.
NO DEAL
The official added that the reported ceasefire deal “is a proposal that no one in the Israeli administration recognizes. It’s a proposal Hamas invented. They are playing with us. They are telling the world – ‘we agreed to a ceasefire,’ to try to prevent Israel from a ground incursion.”
Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated his nation’s determination to launch military operations in Rafah despite international opposition. “We will enter Rafah because we have no other choice. We will destroy the Hamas battalions there; we will complete all the objectives of the war, including the return of all our hostages,” he said last week.
Netanyahu referred to October 7, when Hamas killed some 1,200 people and took hundreds hostage in Israel.
Yet Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office (PML) said Monday that Israel will still send a delegation of mediators “to exhaust the possibility” of reaching an agreement with Hamas under conditions acceptable to Israel.
However, as tensions escalated Monday, Israel ordered some 100,000 residents out of parts of Rafah, adding that it created a humanitarian zone in Gaza where evacuees would receive aid such as food and water.
The United States had urged Israel not to attack Rafah as it has served as the last refuge for about half of Gaza’s 2.3 million people.
White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration made clear to Israel that the way it will conduct an operation in Rafah will influence U.S. policy towards the Gaza war.
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