Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday said that the date for the start of the Israeli army operation in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip had been set.
"Today I received a detailed report on the negotiations in Cairo [on the release of hostages], we are constantly working to achieve our goals, first and foremost the release of all our hostages and achieving a complete victory over [Palestinian movement] Hamas. This victory requires entering Rafah and eliminating the remaining terrorist battalions there. This will happen — we have a date," Netanyahu was quoted as saying in his office's statement.
Last Sunday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant stated that the IDF eliminated Palestinian movement Hamas as a military structure in Khan Yunis. However, the military is preparing for new missions, he added.
The minister expressed confidence that the Israeli army would reach a point when Hamas would no longer control the Gaza Strip and would cease to exist as a military entity threatening Israeli lives.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said late March that Israel should not carry out a ground operation in Rafah, adding that the international community also emphasized the need to avoid it.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also said earlier that "Hamas can be effectively dealt with without a major ground operation in Rafah."
Moreover, in addition to urging Israel to refrain from the ground operation, the leaders of the European Union demanded an urgent humanitarian pause in the Gaza Strip in an effort to establish a lasting ceasefire.
On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched a large-scale rocket attack against Israel and breached the border, attacking both civilian neighborhoods and military bases. Nearly 1,200 people in Israel were killed, and some 240 others abducted during the attack.
Israel launched retaliatory strikes, ordered a complete blockade of Gaza, and started a ground incursion into the Palestinian enclave with the declared goal of eliminating Hamas fighters and rescuing the hostages. According to local authorities, over 33,207 people have been killed and 75,933 wounded so far by Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip.