Complete Victory in Gaza Expected ‘Weeks Away’ Following Initiation of Rafah Operation
by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that an Israeli military operation in Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city, might experience a slight delay if an agreement on a weeks-long ceasefire with Hamas is reached. However, he maintained that achieving total victory in Gaza could be expected “weeks away” once the offensive starts.
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) outlined to the War Cabinet its strategy for evacuating Palestinian civilians from Rafah while simultaneously targeting the remaining Hamas battalions in Gaza near the Egyptian border for military destruction.
Furthermore, late Sunday night, the cabinet approved a plan to deliver “humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip in a way that aims to avert the looting witnessed in the northern Strip and other regions,” the Prime Minister’s Office stated.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed with CBS’s “Face the Nation” the critical role of a Rafah operation in securing an IDF triumph over Hamas.
“Once we begin the Rafah operation, the intense phase of the fighting is weeks away from completion, not months, weeks away from completion,” Netanyahu stated, suggesting that the conflict between Israel and Hamas could conclude by this spring.
“We’ve already destroyed 18 of the 24 Hamas terrorist battalions, and four of them are concentrated in Rafah. We can’t leave the last Hamas stronghold without taking care of it. Obviously, we have to do it,” Netanyahu concluded.
Netanyahu’s remarks came at a time when Israel is cautiously optimistic about reaching an agreement for the release of the remaining 134 hostages from the total of 253 taken by Hamas during its attack in southern Israel on October 7.
Negotiators have leveraged the anticipated military operation in Rafah as a strategic pressure point to compel Hamas into agreeing to a deal before the start of Ramadan on March 10.
Netanyahu told CBS that a hostage deal would delay the operation. “If we have a deal, it’ll be delayed somewhat. But it’ll happen,” Netanyahu stated. However, he stressed that “If we don’t have a deal, we’ll do it anyway. It has to be done. Because total victory is our goal, and total victory is within reach.”
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