Netanyahu vows evacuation of Rafah and Hamas says attack would thwart hostage deal

2024-02-11 18:36:17

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu assured that he will give “safe passage for the civilian population” before the assault on the city of Rafah, in southern Gaza, but Hamas warned that an Israeli military operation in this area would frustrate negotiations on the release of the hostages.

First modification: 02/11/2024 – 19:36

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New rise in diplomatic tensions between Israel and Hamas. This Sunday, in a television interview, Netanyahu affirmed that the offensive in Rafah is key to “crushing” Hamas.

“Victory is within reach. We are going to do it. We are going to finish off the remaining Hamas terrorist battalions and Rafah, which is the last bastion,” he said in the interview with ABC News. “We’re going to do it while giving safe passage to the civilian population so they can leave.”

However, a senior Hamas official told AFP that “any attack […] against Rafah would torpedo the negotiations” on the hostages still in the Strip. What Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his army “have not managed to do in more than four months, they will not do for the duration of the war” , he added.

Humanitarian catastrophe

When Israel announced the invasion of Rafah, where more than 1.3 million Palestinians take refuge, according to the UN, it unleashed a chorus of concern from world leaders.

The United States, Israel’s main ally and military support, warned that plans to invade this border region with Egypt could cause a “disaster,” and President Joe Biden described the Israeli military campaign as “excessive.” For his part, the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, said this offensive would cause “an indescribable humanitarian catastrophe.”

Saudi Arabia on Saturday called for an urgent meeting of the United Nations Security Council and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi called for Israel’s exclusion from the UN, alleging that the Israeli offensive in Gaza was a “crime against humanity.”

At the diplomatic level, negotiations are being carried out, with the mediation of Qatar and Egypt, to reach a new truce, after the one of a week at the end of November that allowed the release of a hundred hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

Con AFP