Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, February 7, rejected an offer from Hamas terrorists to call for hostages and a ceasefire, calling it “delusional” and a “surrender” that would lead to more massacres. But Netanyahu did not say that there would be no negotiations.
He also promised that the Israeli military operation would begin in the city of Rafah.
“We are on the path to total victory—the IDF is on track to achieve all of our goals: the destruction of Hamas, the release of all those abducted, and the removal of the security threat from Gaza… If Hamas remains in Gaza, it is only a matter of time before another massacre occurs,” stated the Prime Minister of Israel.
Earlier, Al Jazeera reported that it had learned the contents of a Hamas proposal suggesting a three-phase ceasefire plan in Gaza in response to mediation efforts by Qatar and Egypt. It includes the withdrawal of Israeli troops and a phased exchange of Palestinian prisoners for Israeli captives in Gaza.
A delegation of Hamas terrorists led by Khalil al-Hayya, a member of the Palestinian extremists’ politburo, has already traveled to Cairo to discuss the deal with officials from Qatar and Egypt. They act as mediators in negotiations with Israel.
In turn, UN Secretary-General Guterres said he was “very alarmed” by Israeli plans to attack Rafah, where 1.9 million Palestinians are sheltering after fleeing the northern Gaza Strip, where the IDF has cleared the region of terrorists.
Here’s what else the head of the Israeli government said:
We are on the road to decisive victory.
At the political level, we are committed to eliminating Hamas and returning all prisoners.
We won’t be back [из Газы] without victory.
[Израильские военные] killed and wounded more than 20,000 of these saboteurs. We eliminated 18 out of 20 battalions [ХАМАСа].
We ordered [израильским военным] operate in Rafah, Hamas’s last stronghold.
We have no choice but a decisive victory to stop Hamas from committing any more massacres.
I told the US Secretary of State: “Mr. Blinken, we are very close to victory.”
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