Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu wants to continue taking Rafah and launch an offensive. There is a date, he announced, without mentioning it. International criticism is growing – including from his allies.
Is the Rafah offensive coming or not coming? For weeks, observers have been wondering whether Israel will implement its announcement of a ground offensive in the south of the Gaza Strip. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the step in the fight against Hamas. Now he announced that the date for the offensive had been set: “For victory it is necessary to take Rafah and eliminate the terrorist battalions there,” he said in a statement. “This will happen, there is a date.”
USA and Germany against offensive
Netanyahu is sticking to his line, even though the USA and Germany had recently repeatedly warned him against a large-scale ground offensive in Rafah. Given the 1.5 million Palestinians who have fled to Rafah, the US has “made it clear to Israel that we believe that a large-scale military invasion of Rafah would have an immensely damaging impact on these civilians and ultimately harm Israel’s security,” he said US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller reacted to Netanyahu’s announcement. The US government has not been given a date for the start of an Israeli offensive in Rafah.
US President Joe Biden recently made it clear to Netanyahu that an invasion without first evacuating civilians would be a “red line” for him. However, hardliners in his own coalition are putting pressure on Netanyahu. Following the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Gaza, Netanyahu’s far-right coalition partner Itamar Ben-Gvir wrote on Platform X: “If the prime minister decides to end the war without a broad attack on Rafah to decisively defeat Hamas, “He has no mandate to continue to serve as head of government.”
France, Egypt and Jordan are calling for action
The Israeli government is increasingly criticized internationally for its war policy in the Gaza Strip. The heads of state of France, Egypt and Jordan jointly called for an “immediate” ceasefire. “The war in Gaza and the catastrophic human suffering associated with it must end immediately,” wrote French President Emmanuel Macron, his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Jordan’s King Abdullah II in an article for several daily newspapers.
The heads of state called for a UN Security Council call for a ceasefire to be implemented “in full without further delay” – as well as the release of the hostages held by the radical Islamic group Hamas.
There is still no agreement in the negotiations about a ceasefire and an exchange of hostages and prisoners. However, according to a representative, the radical Islamic Hamas rejects Israel’s latest proposals.