Egypt Warns Hamas Israel Will Invade Rafah In Two Weeks Without Deal
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
CAIRO/JERUSALEM (Worthy News) – Egypt has warned Hamas that it must agree on a ceasefire and hostage release agreement with Israel within about two weeks, or the Israeli military will launch a ground offensive in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah, several sources said Sunday.
There had been reports that Egypt would suspend ties with Israel if the IDF launched an offensive in Rafah, but Israel’s Army Radio quoted Egyptian officials as saying Sunday that Egypt would not act to prevent an offensive in Rafah as long as civilians aren’t harmed.
Hamas said Sunday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to escape from fulfilling the deal by mass slaughter and a new humanitarian disaster in Rafah. A military attack on Rafah means a cessation of the negotiations on a deal.”
The group did not mention that its attack against Israel on October 7, which killed 1,200 people and saw about 250 others being taken hostage, prompted the Israeli crackdown.
Amid the standoff, Israel will reportedly dispatch to Cairo negotiators to discuss a new hostage deal with U.S., Egyptian, and Qatari officials within the coming days.
Mossad chief David Barnea, Israel Security Agency head Ronen Bar, and Major General Nitzan Alon, who is overseeing the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) efforts to find the hostages, will meet with the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency Director (CIA) Bill Burns.
Others joining the talks are Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Major General Abbas Kamel, the head of Egypt’s General Intelligence Directorate, Israeli sources said.
US WARNING
The talks come after the United States, long Israel’s closest ally, warned the Jewish nation that a military offensive into Gaza’s southern city of Rafah without proper planning would be a “disaster.”
Some 1.5 million Palestinians are surviving in the city bordering Egypt in “dire humanitarian conditions,” United Nations aid workers say.
The European Union shares those concerns with the EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, warning that the armed conflict will likely spread throughout the region unless a cease-fire is agreed between Israel and Hamas.
He referred to U.S. airstrikes that already hit dozens of sites in Iraq and Syria used by Iranian-backed militias and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. The groups say their actions are in response to Israel’s military operations in Gaza and those of the country’s allies.
Ad tensions rose Sunday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told media that intelligence recovered by the IDF in Gaza is making a “realistic” deal possible.
Israeli forces began their ground offensive in Gaza on October 27 after Israel’s government pledged to destroy Hamas, which it regards as a terrorist organization.
Hamas has ruled Gaza, the coastal enclave with more than 2 million Palestinians, since 2007.
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