The Israeli war cabinet has unanimously decided to continue operation in Rafah in southern Gaza Strip to pressure Hamas on the issue of release of hostages, the government’s press office said on Monday.
"The war cabinet unanimously decided that Israel continues the operation in Rafah in order to put military pressure on Hamas, to facilitate the release of our hostages and to achieve other war objectives. At the same time, even though the Hamas proposal is far from Israel's mandatory requirements, Israel will send a delegation to the talks to seize the opportunity to reach an agreement on terms acceptable to Israel," the press office said.
The Israeli military carried out strikes against targets belonging to the Hamas movement in the eastern Rafah on Monday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said.
At least 20 people died as a result of the Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF) strikes on targets in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, Qatar’s Al Jazeera reported, citing medics.
ReplyDeleteAccording to the channel, Israeli warplanes also targeted a school housing displaced people in the Al-Shati refugee camp. The strikes killed one person and wounded others.
On May 6, the Times of Israel reported that the IDF had begun evacuating civilians from Rafah’s eastern neighborhoods, preparing for a planned military operation.
That evening, the IDF press service announced that the military had attacked more than 50 radical targets in the Rafah area during the day. Later, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said that the country's military cabinet had unanimously decided to continue the operation in Rafah in order to put pressure on Hamas.
On May 7, the IDF took control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing on the Gaza Strip's border with Egypt. According to the Israeli army's press service, the military launched a precise counter-terrorism operation in the eastern part of Rafah.