![\"Netanyahu](\"https:\/\/c.ndtvimg.com\/2023-12\/pk2blch4_benjamin-netanyahu_625x300_15_December_23.jpeg\"\/ "\\"Netanyahu")
<\/div>\n“No amount of international pressure will stop us from realising all the goals of the war.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Jerusalem: <\/b><\/p>\n
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israeli troops would pursue a planned ground offensive in southern Gaza’s Rafah that has spurred fears of mass civilian casualties.<\/p>\n
“No amount of international pressure will stop us from realising all the goals of the war: eliminating Hamas, releasing all our hostages and ensuring that Gaza will no longer pose a threat against Israel,” Netanyahu told a cabinet meeting in a video released by his office.<\/p>\n
“To do this, we will also operate in Rafah.”<\/p>\n
His comments came as talks were expected to resume in Doha towards a truce in Gaza, where Israel has pursued a military campaign against Hamas militants for more than five months. Israeli top officials were set to discuss the “mandate” of the delegation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Netanyahu was also set to meet on Sunday with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who was expected to reiterate his warning against a ground offensive in Rafah, where the majority of Gazans have sought refuge from relentless Israeli bombardment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
US President Joe Biden, who has supported Israel during the war, has said an Israeli invasion of Rafah would be a “red line” without credible civilian protection plans in place.<\/p>\n
The head of the UN’s World Health Organisation, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, on Friday appealed to Israel “in the name of humanity” not to launch an assault on Rafah.<\/p>\n
Netanyahu’s office said on Friday he had approved the military’s plan for an operation in Rafah, though no timeline has been given.<\/p>\n
Rafah is the last major population centre in Gaza yet to be subjected to a ground assault in the war, which was triggered by Hamas’s unprecedented October 7 attack on southern Israel.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The attack resulted in the deaths of about 1,160 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli figures.<\/p>\n
Hamas took about 250 Israeli and foreign hostages on October 7, and Israel believes about 130 of those remain in Gaza including 32 presumed dead.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Israel’s military campaign has killed at least 31,645 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.<\/p>\n
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n