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The IDF Spokesperson said on Monday night that the military conducted precise, targeted strikes against Hamas terror targets in Eastern Rafah.
The Prime Minister’s Office said earlier on Monday night that the War Cabinet had agreed to continue with Israel’s planned Rafah operation.
“The War Cabinet unanimously decided that Israel continues the operation in Rafah to exert military pressure on Hamas in order to promote the release of our hostages and the other goals of the war,” the statement read.
The PMO also noted that in parallel and despite the fact that the “proposal is far from Israel’s necessary requirements, Israel will send a delegation of mediators to exhaust the possibility of reaching an agreement under conditions acceptable to Israel.”
This comes despite Hamas’s earlier agreement with the Qatari and Egyptian ceasefire proposal.
‘Deal doesn’t exist’
A former Senior Israeli security source told The Jerusalem Post on Monday that the proposed “deal” Hamas said they agreed upon doesn’t actually exist.
“This so-called ‘deal’ is proof that we’ve just started to apply pressure [on Hamas] by promoting a ground entrance to Rafah, and we suddenly received a green light from Hamas for a prisoner exchange deal and a ceasefire.”
The source added that the reported ceasefire deal “is a proposal that no one in the Israeli administration recognizes. It’s a proposal Hamas invented. They are playing with us. They are telling the world – ‘we agreed to a ceasefire,’ to try to prevent Israel from a ground incursion.”
Gantz: ‘We face a cruel enemy’
Chairman of the National Unity Party Benny Gantz stated on Monday: “I want to address the citizens of Israel and especially the families of the hostages. We face a cruel enemy. We will never give up on the effort to bring our hostages home. We will continue to work for their return as a matter of duty. The negotiation team is working around the clock to examine the proposal presented by Hamas, which does not align with the dialogue held so far with the mediators and contains significant differences. Nevertheless, we continue to turn every stone and dispatch delegations to Cairo.”
“Every decision will be brought to the security cabinet – there will be no political considerations,” he added. “Even the military operation in Rafah is an integral part of our ongoing efforts and commitment to bring back our abductees and change the security reality in the south. We will continue all efforts until we bring them home.”
This is a developing story.
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