Netanyahu insisted that the attack on Rafah was still planned, and that Israel had a plan to evacuate civilians out of harm's way. Asked whether Israel would attack even if Washington said no, Netanyahu said, “Okay, we will go in. Obviously, we make our own decisions, but based on the idea of evacuating people.” Will go inside.” citizen.”
The pace of talks appears to have picked up since Friday, when Israeli officials met in Paris to discuss the terms of a hostage-release deal with delegations from the United States, Egypt and Qatar, though not with Hamas.
Since Hamas killed 1,200 people and captured 253 hostages on October 7, Israel has launched an all-out ground assault on Gaza, with nearly 30,000 confirmed dead, according to Gaza health officials. Is.
In a development that could have implications for long-term negotiations, the prime minister of the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited civilian control over parts of the West Bank, stepped down on Monday.
Mohammed Shtayyeh said he was resigning to build a broad consensus among Palestinians about a political arrangement after the Gaza war.
The PA, which is recognized by the West as the official representative of the Palestinians, lost control of Gaza to Hamas in 2007. Washington has called for reform of the PA as part of an overall solution to governing the Palestinian territories, including Gaza, after the war.