Israel threatened a new ground attack on Rafah, a small city on the southern border with Egypt, where more than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million people are now living, mostly in makeshift tents.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, visiting troops on Monday, said Israeli forces had killed or wounded more than half of Hamas fighters and would continue to do so until “complete victory.”
Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri dismissed Netanyahu as “playing the game of achieving an illusory victory” despite continued resistance.
According to sources close to the talks, the ceasefire proposal envisages a ceasefire of at least 40 days, when militants will free civilians from the remaining hostages, followed by the handover of soldiers and bodies in a later phase. Will go.
The only ceasefire so far lasted for a week in November.
“We want the war to end and we want to go back home, that’s all we want at this stage,” said the 35-year-old Yemeni father of four, reached via messaging app at a UN school in Deir al-Balah. Hamad said. Central Gaza. The area is one of the few areas where Israeli tanks have not yet advanced, and is filled with thousands of displaced families.
“We just listen to the news through small radios and look at the internet in search of hope. We hope Blinken will tell Netanyahu enough is enough, and we hope our factions will make decisions in the best interests of our people.