Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that there is a date set for an Israeli offensive on Rafah. The announcement came as progress was reported in the negotiations for the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza for more than six months. Most of the ministers supported the proposed hostage release deal.
U.S. National Security Spokesperson John Kirby said that Hamas was given a new proposal, but their response could take days because of the nature of communications with leader Yahya Sinwar. A senior member of the terror group's political wing Ali Baraka said the proposal was rejected.
The American proposed compromise includes the number of Palestinian prisoners who would be released in exchange for Hamas delivering the names of the hostages that would be freed, and Israeli assurances to allow more displaced Gazans to return to the northern areas of the Strip.
"It should be plainly obvious just by the amount of shuttle diplomacy we're doing and our counterparts are doing, we're taking this very, very seriously. And we really want to come to closure on a hostage deal as soon as possible," Kriby said.
Netanyahu said in a video post on his social media platforms that he received a detailed briefing on the talks in Cairo. "Today I received a detailed report on the talks in Cairo. We are working constantly to attain our objectives, first and foremost the release of all of our hostages and the achieving of total victory over Hamas. This victory requires entering Rafah and eliminating the terrorist battalions there. This will happen; there is a date," he said.
Officials in Israel said the prime minister's statement could be seen as a negotiating tactic and that Hamas would know that they could delay an assault on Rafah, if they agree to a hostage release deal that would also include a prolonged cease-fire.
But Netanyahu was also believed to be pandering to his coalition partners from the far right after both National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich criticized the withdrawal of troops from Khan Younis and the apparent down scaling of the fighting.
According to a report in the Qatari owned Al Araby al Jadeed newspaper, Israel agreed to increase the number of Gazans who would be allowed back to the northern areas of the Strip from 2,000 to 6,000 but insists on conducting a security check of all those returning, to ensure no Hamas terrorists are among them, a demand Hamas rejects.
According to the reports the proposal includes only a six-week cease-fire separate from the phases of the hostage releases and exchanges and not an end to the fighting which Hamas demands. It includes 40 Israeli captives held by Hamas. According to report in Israel, those hostages do not include IDF soldiers.
Al Jazeera reported that the proposal is for an exchange over three stages, moving IDF forces to a distance of 500 meters away from the main thoroughfares in Gaza City and the delivery of 500 trucks carrying humanitarian aid and supplies daily. The Qatari network also said there would be 900 Palestinian prisoners released in the deal, 100 of them serving life sentences.
Kirby said U.S. officials hoped to meet next week for delayed discussions with senior Israeli officials on plans by Israel for a ground invasion on. He said Washington did not see a Rafah invasion as imminent and Israel had assured U.S. officials it would not proceed before taking part in talks on alternatives.
The U.S. has not been briefed on a date for Israel's invasion of Rafah, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said