Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel stated on Saturday that Israel would not yield to international pressure to cancel its plan for a ground invasion of Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza, which is currently home to over a million Palestinians.
Many of the people in Rafah are displaced and living in schools, tents, or with friends and relatives, struggling to find enough food and water to survive amid Israel’s prolonged military campaign.
“Those who want to prevent us from operating in Rafah are basically telling us: Lose the war,” Mr. Netanyahu said at a news conference in Jerusalem on Saturday evening. “It’s true that there’s a lot of opposition abroad, but this is exactly the moment that we need to say that we won’t be doing a half or a third of the job.”
At the same time, thousands of anti-government protesters filled a central thoroughfare in Tel Aviv, calling for an immediate election and expressing their discontent with the prime minister.
“The people need to rise up, and the government needs to go,” said one protester, Yuval Lerner, 57.
Mr. Netanyahu’s comments also came as world leaders and international organizations were raising alarms that an invasion of Rafah would only compound the humanitarian disaster for displaced Palestinians.
Josep Borrell, the European Union’s top diplomat, reiterated on Saturday his appeal to Israel to refrain from launching a military operation in Rafah “that would worsen an already catastrophic humanitarian situation.”
Mr. Netanyahu, however, said Palestinians would be permitted to leave Rafah and contended that there was “a lot of space” north of the city where civilians could resettle.
The Israeli leader played down the chances of a quick breakthrough in indirect talks with Hamas on a cease-fire in exchange for a hostage release. He said that Hamas was making “ludicrous” demands in those negotiations.
Explaining his decision to stop Israeli officials from participating in follow-up negotiations in Cairo earlier this week, the prime minister went on to say Hamas had not compromised on its demands “one nanometer.”
“There’s nothing to do until we see a change,” he added.
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2024-02-17 19:50:32
Link from www.nytimes.com