- This story is broken, the rest will follow.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that a date had been set for an Israeli invasion of Rafah, Gaza’s last refuge for displaced Palestinians, without disclosing the date as a new round of ceasefire talks fire takes place in Cairo.
“Today I received a detailed report on the Cairo talks. We are constantly working to achieve our goals, first and foremost the release of all our hostages and complete victory over Hamas,” Netanyahu said.
“This victory requires entry into Rafah and the elimination of terrorist battalions. It will happen – there is a date.
The shock announcement came hours after reports suggested Hamas and Israel were two days away from a ceasefire and hostage deal that would have at least temporarily ended the war. bloodiest in the Middle East in decades.
Hamas and Israel sent negotiators to Cairo, Egypt, where they were joined by mediators from the United States, Egypt and Qatar.
Egypt’s state-linked media outlet Al-Qahera reported that “significant progress has been made on several controversial points of agreement,” citing an unnamed high-ranking Egyptian source.
The media outlet said the delegations from Qatar and Hamas had left Cairo and were expected to return “within two days to finalize the terms of the agreement.”
The American and Israeli delegations were also expected to leave the Egyptian capital “in the coming hours” for consultations over the next 48 hours, the statement added.
But negotiations have been fragile throughout Gaza’s six-month war, with Hamas and Israel repeatedly withdrawing over disagreements.
More soon.
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