- This story is breaking, more to follow.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that a date has been set for an Israeli invasion of Rafah, Gaza’s last refuge for displaced Palestinians, without disclosing that date as a new round of ceasefire talks take place in Cairo.
‘Today I received a detailed report on the talks in Cairo, we are constantly working to achieve our goals, first and foremost the release of all our hostages and achieving a complete victory over Hamas,’ Netanyahu said.
‘This victory requires entry into Rafah and the elimination of the terrorist battalions there. It will happen – there is a date.’
The shock announcement came hours after reports suggested Hamas and Israel were just two days away from agreeing a ceasefire and hostage deal that would have put at least a temporary end to the bloodiest war in the Middle East in decades.
Hamas and Israel sent negotiators to Cairo, Egypt, where they were joined by mediators from the United States, Egypt and Qatar.
‘This victory requires entry into Rafah and the elimination of the terrorist battalions there. It will happen – there is a date’, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu (pictured) said today
Egyptian state-linked news outlet Al-Qahera reported ‘significant progress being made on several contentious points of agreement’, citing an unnamed high-ranking Egyptian source.
The outlet said Qatari and Hamas delegations had left Cairo and were expected to return ‘within two days to finalise the terms of the agreement’.
US and Israeli delegations were also due to leave the Egyptian capital ‘in the next few hours’ for consultations over the next 48 hours, it added.
But negotiations have been shaky throughout the six-month war in Gaza, with both Hamas and Israel pulling out of talks over disagreements several times.
More to follow.
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