ISRAELI Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to invade refugee-filled Rafah “with or without” a ceasefire deal.
Tanks and troops are said to be lined up at the Gaza border, waiting for a green light to storm the already-battered city.
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Hamas is currently considering a truce-for-hostages deal that would have them free 33 hostages in exchange for a pause in fighting.
But Netanyahu pledged on Tuesday to launch an incursion into Rafah “with or without a deal”.
He said: “The idea that we will stop the war before achieving all of its goals is out of the questions.
“We will enter Rafah and we will eliminate Hamas’ battalions there – with a deal or without a deal, to achieve the total victory.”
The prime minister reportedly told local media outlet N12 News that the evacuation of people in Rafah had already begun in preparation for an operation that will happen soon.
He reportedly said “all cabinet ministers” supported the decision.
UNRWA Commissioner-General Lazzarini later denied the claim that evacuation of Rafah had begun, but said it may happen if no deal is reached this week.
The latest attempt at a truce deal, proposed by Egypt and crafted in part by Israel, calls for 20 to 33 Israeli hostages to be released by Hamas over several weeks.
In exchange, Israel would release Palestinian prisoners and agree with the militant group to stop fighting.
A second phase described as the “restoration of sustainable calm” would see the last of the hostages – captive Israeli soldiers and the bodies of the deceased – exchanged for more Palestinian prisoners.
The “restoration of sustainable calm” reference is a “a way to agree to a permanent ceasefire without calling it that”, a foreign diplomatic source told CNN.
Mossad, Shin Bet, and Israeli military officials were expected to travel to Cairo today, according to Israeli sources.
Hamas’ leader leader Yahya Sinwar was said to be considering the proposal, with a decision likely to be reached within days.
Any delay in Hamas’ response could have dire implications for the 1.5 million Palestinians sheltering in the southern Gaza Strip’s Rafah.
Israeli military sources said the Israeli army is prepared to invade the city within 72 hours if no deal on a ceasefire is reached, Israeli media reported on Tuesday.
News site Israeli Ynet cited an unnamed source claiming Israeli military tanks and troops were lined up at the Gaza border and waiting for the go-ahead to begin offensive operations.
Israeli army’s Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi has reportedly approved the final plans for a military offensive in Rafah, as well as a plan to evacuate civilians to safer areas in the central Gaza Strip.
Rafah is the last remaining area in the besieged enclave where Israel has not formally announced the entry of its troops.
Netanyahu has claimed the “last bastion” of Hamas is hunkered down in the city and said sending troops into the “final terrorist holdout” is necessary to Israel winning the war.
Israel has warned this is Hamas’ “last chance” to agree to a ceasefire-hostage exchange truce deal before it launches its assault on Rafah.
A senior Israeli official said Egypt seemed willing to pressure the militant group to reach a deal, adding that “in the background, there are very serious intentions from Israel to move ahead in Rafah”.
The US and the UK have urged Hamas to accept the proposal, described by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken as “extraordinarily generous on the part of Israel”.
Mr Blinken said on Monday: “In this moment the only thing standing between the people of Gaza and a ceasefire is Hamas.
“They (Hamas) have to decide and they have to decide quickly.
“I’m hopeful that they will make the right decision.”
For months, the basis of negotiations had been the release of 40 hostages for a six-week pause in fighting.
But Israel agreed to accept fewer hostages in the first phase of a potential truce after Hamas dropped its offer to less than 20 people.
Israel believes Hamas has 33 living hostages who meet the “humanitarian” description – meaning women, children, men aged over 50, and people who are sick – and insists they should all be freed, The Times of Israel reports.
The country is reportedly willing to make further major concessions, including allowing people to return to their homes in northern Gaza and withdrawing forces from a key corridor bisecting Gaza.
More than 130 Israeli hostages are still in Hamas captivity after the militant group launched its assault on Israel on October 7, although far fewer are thought to still be alive, while Tel Aviv has about 9,100 Palestinians in its jails.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said an attack on Rafah would be “the biggest catastrophe in the Palestinian people’s history”.
He said: “We call on the United States of America to ask Israel to not carry on the Rafah attack.
“America is the only country able to prevent Israel from committing this crime.”
The president said he feared Israel’s operation in Gaza would force the Palestinian population out of the occupied West Bank and into Jordan.
Israel’s Netanyahu has repeatedly ruled out ending the war until Hamas is wiped out completely.
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