Israel will launch an offensive into Rafah with or without a ceasefire and hostage release deal with Hamas in place, Benjamin Netanyahu vowed today, before Israeli military sources said the IDF is prepared to attack ‘within 72 hours’.

The city in southern Gaza is currently sheltering hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, with Israel’s western allies, Arab neighbours and aid groups all warning that any assault by the IDF on the overcrowded city will result more civilian deaths.

But despite the warnings and the growing hope that a ceasefire deal could be struck soon, the Israeli Prime Minister said his forces would enter Rafah to destroy Hamas’ battalions there ‘with or without a deal.’

In a meeting with families of hostages held by militants in Gaza, Mr Netanyahu said: ‘The idea that we will stop the war before achieving all of its goals is out of the question. We will enter Rafah and we will eliminate Hamas’ battalions there – with a deal or without a deal, to achieve the total victory.’

Israel and Hamas are currently negotiating a cease-fire agreement meant to free hostages and bring some relief to the nearly 7-month-long war sparked by Hamas’s deadly terror attack on southern Israel on October 7.

The attack – which saw 1,200 people killed in Israel and 250 hostages taken into Gaza – prompted Israel to launch its own attack on Gaza with the goal of wiping out the Palestinian group. Since then, more than 34,000 people have been killed in Gaza. 

In the face of mounting international pressure to end the war, Netanyahu has vowed to achieve ‘total victory’ in the war against Hamas

At home, he has faced pressure from his nationalist governing partners to launch an offensive in Rafah, which Israel says is Hamas’ last major stronghold.

The Israeli Ynet news website reported that IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi has approved plans for a military offensive on Rafah, as well as plans to move the civilians grouped there towards the centre of the Gaza strip.

The outlet, citing unnamed sources, said Israeli tanks were lined up near the Israel-Gaza border waiting for the green light.

Netanyahu’s vow came as cautious hopes were building on Tuesday for the Gaza truce and hostage release deal.

Hamas said it was studying the latest proposal and US top diplomat Antony Blinken was due to head back to Israel.

The Palestinian group said it was considering a plan for a 40-day ceasefire and the release of scores of hostages for larger numbers of Palestinian prisoners.

The Islamist group, whose envoys returned from Cairo talks to their base in Qatar, would ‘discuss the ideas and the proposal,’ said a Hamas source.

‘We are keen to respond as quickly as possible,’ they added.

Ynet said the next 48 to 72 hours are critical for reaching a deal with Hamas or initiating the Israeli attack on Rafah.

An Israeli official told AFP the government ‘will wait for answers until Wednesday night’, and then ‘make a decision’ whether to send negotiators to Cairo. 

Sources in Egypt – a key mediator alongside the United States and Qatar – told Al-Qahera News, a site linked to Egyptian intelligence services, that Hamas envoys were due to ‘return with a written response’.

Washington, Israel’s top ally, has heightened pressure on all sides to reach a ceasefire – a message pushed by Blinken, who was on his seventh Middle East crisis tour since the war broke out.

Blinken, who arrived in Jordan from Saudi Arabia and was later heading to Israel for talks with its leaders on Wednesday, described Israel’s offer as ‘extraordinarily generous’ and urged Hamas to ‘decide quickly’.

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