Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered troops to prepare to enter the overcrowded Gaza city of Rafah, even as a new round of talks aimed at securing a truce with Hamas is set to open Thursday in Cairo.
Netanyahu announced the order after rejecting Hamas’s response to a cease-fire proposal at the center of intense recent diplomatic efforts, although visiting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken insisted on Wednesday that he still sees “room for an agreement”.
Meanwhile, concerns grew for the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who have sought refuge in Rafah along the Egyptian border, with UN chief Antonio Guterres warning that a military push into the city would “exponentially increase what is already a humanitarian nightmare”.
In televised remarks on Wednesday, Netanyahu said he had ordered troops to “prepare for action” in the city and that “total victory” over Hamas was just months away.
As for the ceasefire proposal, he added: “Giving in to the bizarre demands of Hamas that we have just heard will only lead to another massacre.”
Blinken, who is on another trip to the region to push for a cease-fire, told reporters in Tel Aviv that Hamas’s counter-proposal at least offered an opportunity “to continue negotiations.”
