Netanyahu vows to push ahead into Rafah
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Sunday to send ground forces into Gaza's southern Rafah city despite international fears for the fate of Palestinian civilians sheltering there. The premier, whose security and war cabinets were also due to discuss latest international efforts towards a truce deal, stressed that "no amount of international pressure will stop us from realising all the goals of the war". "To do this, we will also operate in Rafah," he told a cabinet meeting, before he was set to meet visiting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for talks on the war raging since Hamas militants attacked Israel from Gaza on October 7. Israel has repeatedly threatened to launch a ground offensive against Hamas in Rafah, now home to nearly 1.5 million mostly displaced Gazans sheltering near the Egyptian border. UN World Health Organisation chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged Israel "in the name of humanity" not to launch a Rafah invasion, warning that "this humanitarian catastrophe must not be allowed to worsen". Washington, which provides Israel with billions of dollars in military assistance, has said it cannot support a Rafah operation without a "credible, achievable, executable plan" to shelter civilians. As tensions have risen with Washington, Netanyahu also criticised the US Senate leader for urging the Israeli government to hold new elections, calling the comments "totally inappropriate." "We're not a banana republic," Netanyahu told CNN, blasting the remarks by Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the highest-ranking elected Jewish American in history. Schumer, who visited Israel after October 7, had also called Netanyahu an obstacle to peace. Netanyahu leads a coalition of religious and ultra-nationalist parties. His failure to bring home the hostages taken by Hamas militants during their attack has led to mounting protests within his country as well as domestic calls for early elections. International envoys were planning to meet in Qatar soon to revive stalled talks for a ceasefire and hostage release deal. A Hamas proposal calls for an Israeli withdrawal from "all cities and populated areas" in Gaza during a six-week truce and for more humanitarian aid, according to an official from the Palestinian group. Israel plans to attend the talks, with cabinet members due to "decide on the mandate of the delegation in charge of the negotiations before its departure for Doha", Netanyahu's office said, without giving a date for when they would leave. There has been no letup in the fighting, and at least 92 people were killed over the previous 24 hours, the health ministry in the Hamas-ruled territory said on Sunday. The dead included 12 members of the same family whose house was hit in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza. (AFP)