Pressing forward with the Rafah assault, the Israeli PM vows he will defy the West

While peace negotiations were scheduled to restart, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu brushed off criticism from outside and said he would continue the military operation against Hamas in Gaza, where relief organisations warn that hunger is imminent.
During a Sunday cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said that Israel will advance into Rafah, the last area in the small, densely populated Gaza Strip that is comparatively secure.

“We’re going to work in Rafah. He did not specify if the attack would start ina few weeks or whether it would take many weeks to complete. He just remarked, “This will take several weeks, and it will happen.”
He subsequently said that Israel would not abandon people stranded in Rafah when Israeli soldiers launched their attack, after his meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Jerusalem.

Over a million displaced individuals from various areas of the enclave have sought sanctuary in Rafah. Israel’s allies have repeatedly advised Netanyahu not to assault Rafah without a strategy to safeguard civilians.
During a joint press conference, Scholz said he had discussed the need to provide comprehensive humanitarian help to the Gaza population with Netanyahu. “We cannot watch Palestinians risk starvation,” Scholz said, reiterating the demand for a ceasefire agreement and more assistance for Gaza made by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who was also in nearby Egypt at the time.

Netanyahu had criticised his supporters at the cabinet meeting, asking, “Are your memories that short? How could you have missed the worst Jewish slaughter since the Holocaust on October 7th? Are you really that eager to deny Israel the right to self-defense against the horrors of Hamas?
Last week, Hamas made a fresh plan that included trading Palestinian inmates for Israeli captives. Before the meeting in Qatar, the Israeli government will discuss it.