Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office on Friday said he had approved a plan to attack Rafah, the city on the southern edge of the Gaza enclave where more than half of its 2.3 million residents are sheltering after five months of genocidal war that has officially claimed over 31,000 Palestinian lives.
Global leaders including Israel’s staunch ally the United States have urged Netanyahu to hold off attacking Rafah, fearing mass civilian casualties.
Meanwhile, Hamas has presented a Gaza ceasefire proposal to mediators and the US, which includes the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for freedom for Palestinian prisoners, 100 of whom are serving life sentences, according to a proposal seen by Reuters.
Although Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed Hamas’s latest proposal as “ridiculous”, an Israeli delegation led by Mossad’s spy chief is heading to Qatar for truce talks.
The Israeli statement said the Israeli Defence Force was “preparing operationally and for the evacuation of the population” of Rafah.
