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Netanyahu Says Will Conduct Operation in Rafah Even if Hostage Deal is Reached

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (EPA)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (EPA)
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Netanyahu Says Will Conduct Operation in Rafah Even if Hostage Deal is Reached

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (EPA)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (EPA)

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.”

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Damascus Says Security Operation Ends in Ashrafiyat Sahnaya

Armed members of Syria's Druze community attend the funeral of seven people killed during overnight clashes with Syrian security forces, in Damascus, on April 30, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Armed members of Syria's Druze community attend the funeral of seven people killed during overnight clashes with Syrian security forces, in Damascus, on April 30, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
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Damascus Says Security Operation Ends in Ashrafiyat Sahnaya

Armed members of Syria's Druze community attend the funeral of seven people killed during overnight clashes with Syrian security forces, in Damascus, on April 30, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Armed members of Syria's Druze community attend the funeral of seven people killed during overnight clashes with Syrian security forces, in Damascus, on April 30, 2025. (Photo by AFP)

The head of security in Syria’s Damascus countryside, Hussam Al-Tahan, said a security operation in the flashpoint town of Ashrafiyat Sahnaya had concluded, with Syrian forces now deployed across all neighborhoods to restore calm and stability.

State-run SANA news agency quoted Tahan as saying security forces had taken full control of the area, located southwest of the capital, and were launching measures to secure civilians and stabilize the situation.

Syrian state television reported that large reinforcements from General Security had entered the town to pursue what it described as “outlawed groups,” with forces now deployed at all entry and exit points to prevent further violence.

At least 75 people were injured over the past 48 hours in Sahnaya, according to state television, amid heavy gunfire and attacks blamed on armed groups. The clashes have stoked fears of deepening sectarian tensions in the area.

In an effort to defuse the crisis, local dignitaries and religious leaders from the Druze community held a meeting with the governors of Damascus countryside, Sweida, and Quneitra. Syria’s top cleric, Grand Mufti Sheikh Osama Abdul Karim Al-Rifai, called on citizens to reject sectarian strife.

“Any act of revenge or retaliation is unjust,” the Mufti said in a televised address on Wednesday. “Syrian blood is sacred. Do not listen to calls for revenge – extinguishing this strife will save lives,” he added, urging Syrians to allow justice to take its course.

The Interior Ministry said in a statement that armed militants had launched a surprise assault on several General Security checkpoints in Ashrafiyat Sahnaya using light weapons and rocket-propelled grenades, injuring a number of personnel.

In response, security forces fanned out across the area. But snipers from the armed groups reportedly took up positions on rooftops, targeting officers and killing five General Security members and wounding others.

In the early hours of Wednesday, the ministry added, militants opened fire on a vehicle arriving from the southern province of Daraa, killing six civilians inside.

General Security forces have since tightened control in and around the town, sending additional units to contain the violence and ensure the safety of residents.

A curfew was imposed on Tuesday after gunmen based in a nearby town launched an attack on security posts surrounding Ashrafiyat Sahnaya. The situation briefly calmed after General Security forces took up positions at the town’s eastern entrance, but clashes flared again overnight and continued into Wednesday morning.

A security source in Damascus said a wide-scale sweep was underway to arrest armed groups accused of using the town as a base for launching “terrorist operations” against civilians.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, residents described a harrowing night of intense gunfire, explosions, and drone activity. “We didn’t sleep. The sound of gunfire and mortars didn’t stop,” said one civilian source. “Snipers were on rooftops, and drones hovered all night.”

With no reliable news source other than conflicting and fear-inducing social media updates, residents expressed confusion about the unfolding events.

Locals called on Syrian civil society to act and protest against incitement and militia activity, urging the disarmament of rogue groups. They warned that armed factions from outside Sahnaya were launching attacks from the town’s outskirts, including a shooting incident on Tuesday that targeted a General Security checkpoint.

Tensions flared further in and around the Syrian capital as the town of Jaramana, south of Damascus, held funerals on Wednesday for seven people killed in overnight clashes earlier this week.

The city witnessed heavy fighting between Monday and Tuesday night, part of a broader wave of unrest in southern Damascus and surrounding areas.