Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared his intention to invade the southern Gaza city of Rafah, regardless of the outcome of truce talks with Hamas. The prime minister's statement comes amid mounting international pressure to prevent an escalation of the seven-month-long conflict, which has left an estimated 34,000 dead and hundreds of thousands of civilians sheltering in Rafah.
"The idea that we will halt the war before achieving all of its goals is out of the question," Netanyahu said in a statement issued by his office. "We will enter Rafah and we will eliminate the Hamas battalions there with or without a deal, in order to achieve the total victory." The prime minister's comments appear to undermine recent efforts by the US to push Hamas to accept Israel's "extraordinarily generous offer" for a truce, which would see the release of 33 hostages in the first stage of the deal, with the possibility of a "restoration of sustainable calm" in Gaza afterward.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had expressed hope that Hamas would "make the right decision" and accept the deal quickly, stating that "the only thing standing between the people of Gaza and a ceasefire is Hamas." However, Netanyahu's pledge to forge ahead with the Rafah invasion, regardless of the deal's outcome, may doom its prospects and exacerbate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where famine appears imminent.
The prime minister's stance also threatens to increase tensions with US President Joe Biden, who has repeatedly warned that an incursion into Rafah would cross a "red line" and worsen the already dire situation for civilians in the city. In a phone call with Netanyahu on Sunday, Biden "reiterated his clear position" on Rafah, according to a White House statement.
Netanyahu's defiance seems to put him at odds with much of his own war cabinet, "most of whose members now prefer to promote a deal at the expense of invading Rafah," according to Haaretz's Amos Harel. However, the prime minister appears to be siding with his far-right allies, such as National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who openly seek to implode the US-backed deal. "The prime minister heard my words," Ben Gvir said after meeting with Netanyahu, "and promised that the war would not end, and promised that there would be no reckless deal."
The looming invasion has also drawn sharp criticism from the international community, with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres warning that an assault on Rafah would be an "unbearable escalation" and appealing for "all those with influence over Israel to do everything in their power to prevent it." West Bank-based Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said an invasion of Rafah would be the "biggest catastrophe in the Palestinian people's history."
Meanwhile, the head of the UN's refugee organization, Philippe Lazzarini, has warned that the threat of invasion is causing people in Rafah to live in a state of "constant traumatic stress disorder." "People have not yet been asked to evacuate from Rafah, but there is a sense that if there is no deal this week that could happen," Lazzarini told reporters. "My colleagues on the ground are describing constant state of trauma among the people."
As the conflict continues, Netanyahu also denounced recent reports that the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague could be preparing to issue arrest warrants for Israeli government leaders and military commanders on charges related to the war. "Israel expects the leaders of the free world to come out strongly against this scandalous step, a step that will harm the self-defence capacity not only of the State of Israel, but of all democracies in the world," the prime minister said.
The US, which has not ratified the Rome Statute, the ICC's founding treaty, has stated that it does not believe the court has jurisdiction and does not support the investigation. However, the ICC ruled in 2015 that it had jurisdiction because the Palestinians had ratified the treaty.
