Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged to carry out the planned ground invasion of the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, whether or not a ceasefire and prisoner swap deal is reached with the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas.
"The idea that we will stop the war before achieving all its objectives is out of the question," the head of the Israeli regime said on Tuesday, according to a statement from 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.”
Earlier in the day, the Israeli military’s chief of staff Herzi Halevi also said the military had approved final plans for the phased invasion of Rafah as well as the refugee camps in the central part of Gaza in the next 72 hours.