Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday an Israeli military operation into Gaza’s Rafah would hand Israel “total victory” over Hamas within the time span of just a few weeks.
“If we have a (ceasefire) deal, it will be delayed somewhat, but it will happen,” he told CBS.
“If we don’t have a deal, we’ll do it anyway. It has to be done because total victory is our goal and total victory is within reach—not months away, weeks away, once we begin the operation,” the PM added.
Netanyahu said if Hamas goes down from its “delusional claims and bring them down to earth, then we'll have the progress that we all want.”
The PM’s comments came while state-linked Egyptian media reported Sunday that negotiations for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza have resumed in Doha between “experts from Egypt, Qatar, the United States and Israel” as well as Hamas representatives.
Lately, an Israeli delegation led by Mossad chief David Barnea was in Paris discussing possibilities of a deal to ensure a fresh ceasefire and the release of captives held in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
International pressure for a ceasefire has mounted in recent weeks, as the death toll from Israel's military offensive on the Palestinian territory nears 30,000, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry.
Israel has pledged not to stop its campaign in Gaza until Hamas is destroyed.
On Sunday, the Israeli war on Gaza reached its 142nd consecutive day while the humanitarian crisis is quickly worsening. The UN World Food Program (WFP) highlighted that a quarter of Gazans (576,600 people) have exhausted their food supplies and coping capacities. It said 90 percent of children under the age of 2 face severe food poverty.
And while all areas in the Gaza Strip suffer from a catastrophic humanitarian crisis, residents in the north endure the most. Around 800,000 Palestinians in the northern Gaza Strip who are grappling with hunger have resorted to grinding animal feed to make bread due to the prolonged scarcity of wheat flour amid Israel's blockade of humanitarian aid.
Raed Nims, the spokesperson for the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said reports issued by the Health Ministry and government authorities documented the death of children and elderly people due to hunger.
He said the Israeli army is preventing the delivery of aid to the North and Gaza city.
Nims told the Arab World Press that an average of 80 aid trucks entered the Strip following the ceasefire. “We demanded that more trucks be delivered due to the deteriorating situation. However, the number was brought down and less aid trucks are currently delivered to the area.”
