JERUSALEM/RAMALLAH/GAZA - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Israel has set the date for a ground offensive in Gaza's Rafah.
He did not say when the offensive would take place, but said that "the victory requires entry into Rafah and the elimination of the terrorist battalions there."
"It will happen -- there is a date," he said in a video statement.
The United Nations and aid experts have been warning that any military operation in Rafah, Gaza's southernmost city where about 1.4 million people have been seeking refuge from bombardments elsewhere, will exact an unacceptably high toll on Gaza.
The Ministry of Health in Gaza announced Monday that the Palestinian death toll has risen to 33,207 as a result of ongoing Israeli attacks
Meanwhile, a Hamas official said on Monday that the movement insists on implementing its demands before reaching any deal with Israel, and there has been no progress in securing a truce through negotiations.
Taher al-Nunu, an adviser to the head of the political office of the movement, told Xinhua that "there is no progress in the negotiations ... until this moment, amidst Israel's persistence and attempts to sabotage all diplomatic efforts."
He explained that Hamas has clear demands for a ceasefire, which include ending the Israeli aggression, allowing the return of displaced persons to Gaza City and the northern sector without restrictions, rebuilding the region, and ending the siege.
"Our demands are legitimate and a basic right for all members of our people in the Gaza Strip, who have suffered from the consequences of the ongoing Israeli war and crimes against civilians," said the Hamas official, stressing that no agreement will be reached until the demands are met.
Indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel have resumed in Egypt's capital Cairo in a bid to reach a truce deal.
Palestinian sources told Xinhua that the mediators presented a new proposal in the latest round of talks for a ceasefire in three stages.
According to the Palestinian sources, the proposal includes, in the first stage, the return of displaced civilians in Gaza to the northern sector without specifying their numbers.
Furthermore, the proposal entails Israel's agreement to open the Rashid and Salah al-Din streets, move its forces 500 meters away from them, permit the daily entry of 500 aid trucks to all areas of the Gaza Strip, and release 900 prisoners, including 100 serving life sentences.
The second stage involves the release of all Israeli prisoners while the finalization of negotiations for a lasting peace at last.
The Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported that Netanyahu did not agree with this proposal, while most members of the Israeli war cabinet supported it.
The Ministry of Health in Gaza announced Monday that the Palestinian death toll has risen to 33,207 as a result of ongoing Israeli attacks.
During the past 24 hours, the Israeli army killed 32 Palestinians and wounded 47 others, bringing the total death toll to 33,207 and injuries to 75,933 since the Israel-Hamas conflict broke out on Oct 7, 2023, said the ministry in a statement.
Meanwhile, at least 67 bodies have been recovered in the southern Khan Younis city since the Israeli army withdrew from southern Gaza, according to the state-run Palestine TV.
Israel launched a large-scale offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip to retaliate against a Hamas rampage through southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and more than 200 were taken hostage.
