“There is international pressure and it’s growing, but … we need to stand together against the attempts to stop the war,” the prime minister told a military graduation ceremony in southern Israel, saying that Israel’s forces would operate against Hamas all through the Gaza Strip “including Rafah, the last Hamas stronghold ”.
He added: “Whoever tells us not to act in Rafah is telling us to lose the war and that will not happen .”
The uncompromising statement came just hours after news that Hamas had withdrawn its delegation from indirect ceasefi re negotiations in Cairo, suggesting the chances of even a short pause to the war in Gaza before Ramadan are now very slim.
The US, Egypt and Qatar have been trying for weeks to broker an agreement on a six-week ceasefi re and the release of 40 hostages held in Gaza in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned in Israel. Hamas confi rmed yesterday that its delegation ha d left Cairo but said talks would resume next week.
“Hamas’s delegation left Cairo this morning for consultation with the leadership of the movement, with negotiations and eff orts continuing to stop the aggression, return the displaced and bring in relief aid to our people,” a Hamas statement said.
This story is from the March 08, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the March 08, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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