Tel Aviv [Israel], February 8: Israel rejected Hamas's proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, while preparing to send troops to the city of Rafah.
CNN on February 8 quoted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejecting Hamas's proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, emphasizing that the goal of "complete victory" is within reach.
"We have not committed to anything. We have not committed to any of Hamas's delusional demands, about the number of terrorists with blood on their hands. There are no commitments, there must be negotiations, It's a process and right now, from what I see from Hamas, that hasn't happened yet," he said.
Previously, Hamas gave its response to the proposed ceasefire and the hostage agreement in Gaza by calling on Israel to withdraw troops in stages during the four-and-a-half-month ceasefire and make a plan to end it. permanently end war.
Hamas has proposed a three-phase deal with the gradual release of hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israel, including those serving life sentences, as well as the start of humanitarian and reconstruction efforts.
Contrary to previous requests, this time Hamas did not call for an immediate end to hostilities. Accordingly, negotiations on a permanent ceasefire will take place during the temporary ceasefire and the remaining hostages will only be released after a final agreement to end the war is agreed.
In related developments, AFP reported that Prime Minister Netanyahu ordered soldiers to "prepare for operations" in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, pledging that "complete victory" will be achieved in the coming months.
The direction came after he met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken about Hamas 's proposal .
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres previously said the news that the Israeli army would enter Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of civilians had to flee to escape daily bombardment, was an alarming matter.
In another development, CNN quoted information from the US Central Command saying that its forces had conducted an airstrike in Iraq , killing a Kataib Hezbollah leader.
The airstrike on the evening of February 7 targeted a person accused by the US of being responsible for attacking US soldiers in the area. The identity of this character is unknown.
The raid was carried out by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) targeting a vehicle in Baghdad, according to US and Iraqi officials. A US official announced that there will be further action in response to the deaths of three US soldiers in Jordan.
After the above raid, Iraq issued a warning to the US. The Iraqi Joint Operations Command criticized it as "new US aggression" and undermined any bilateral understanding. A US official also admitted that the country did not notify Iraq of the raid in advance.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
