Israel PM warns of Rafah attack 'with or without' deal
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Tuesday to launch a ground offensive on the Gaza Strip's far-southern city of Rafah "with or without" a truce deal being agreed with Hamas. The hawkish premier issued the warning despite strong concerns raised by top ally Washington and hours before US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was set to arrive in Israel on his latest Middle East crisis tour. Netanyahu promised "total victory" and said stopping the war "before achieving all of its goals is out of the question". "We will enter Rafah and we will eliminate the Hamas battalions there with or without a deal," he told families of some of the hostages still being held in Gaza, his office said. Netanyahu's comments came as Hamas was weighing the latest plan for a truce proposed in Cairo talks with US, Egyptian and Qatari mediators that had raised cautious hopes for an end to the fighting after nearly seven months. The Palestinian militant group said it was considering a plan for a 40-day ceasefire and the exchange of scores of hostages for larger numbers of Palestinian prisoners. Washington has heightened pressure on all sides to reach a ceasefire - a message pushed by Blinken, who was on his seventh regional tour since the war broke out. As diplomacy continued, Israel kept up its bombardment that has flattened swathes of Gaza. An AFP correspondent reported air strikes on Gaza City, Khan Yunis and Rafah, while Israel said "fighter jets struck a number of terror targets in central Gaza". Palestinians in Rafah mourned the latest victims as children were being pulled from the rubble. (AFP)