Hamas puts the fate of the hostages in the balance.
The Palestinian Islamist movement warned this Sunday that an Israeli military offensive against Rafah, in the far south of the Gaza Strip, would threaten negotiations on the release of the hostages.
Several countries have also already warned of a “humanitarian catastrophe” in the event of an assault on the city where more than 1.3 million Palestinians are refugees, according to the United Nations.
The fighting is particularly intense this Sunday a few kilometers to the north, in Khan Younes, where the Israeli army has been tracking Hamas fighters for several weeks.
The Israeli army “continues to eliminate terrorists and conduct targeted operations,” she said.
“Those who say that we absolutely must not enter Rafah are in reality telling us that we must lose the war, and leave Hamas there,” declared Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to reports. extracts from an interview with ABC News.
Israel will provide “safe passage for the civilian population so that they can leave” the city, backed by the closed border with Egypt, he added, without specifying where civilians could take refuge.
Qatar and Egypt mediation
“Any attack (….) on the city of Rafah would threaten the negotiations” on an exchange between the hostages and Palestinians detained by Israel, a Hamas official, who took power in Gaza in 2007. What the prime minister and the army “failed to do in more than four months, they will fail to do no matter how long the war lasts,” he said.
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Around 250 people were kidnapped in Israel on October 7 and taken to Gaza.
A week-long truce in November resulted in the release of 105 hostages and 240 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
According to the Jewish state, 132 hostages are still being held, of whom 29 are believed to have died.
Hamas' armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, said this Sunday that two hostages died and eight others were seriously injured in bombings over the past four days.
Negotiations, conducted via mediation by Qatar and Egypt, are underway to reach a new, longer truce and new trade.
Faced with the prospect of a major offensive, pressure from foreign countries is increasing.
The United Arab Emirates expressed “its deep concern” regarding the “serious humanitarian repercussions” of an Israeli assault.
Qatar “strongly condemned” Israel’s threats over Rafah.
In Tehran, Iranian President Ebrahim Raïssi calls for Israel to be excluded from the United Nations, believing that the offensive in Gaza is “a crime against humanity”.
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For the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, an offensive in Rafah would cause “an indescribable humanitarian catastrophe”.
The United States, Israel's main ally, also toughened its tone, with President Joe Biden deeming the Israeli "response" to the Hamas attack "excessive".
France wants to avoid a “disaster”
“A large-scale Israeli offensive in Rafah would create a catastrophic humanitarian situation of a new dimension and unjustifiable,” responded the deputy spokesperson for the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Christophe Lemoine.
“To avoid disaster, we reiterate our call for a halt to the fighting,” he added in a written statement.
Paris recalls that “Rafah is today a place where more than 1.3 million people are taking refuge”.
“It is also a vital crossing point for delivering humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza.
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Rafah is the last major urban center where the army has not yet penetrated and the city has become a gigantic makeshift encampment.
The humanitarian aid arriving there through Egypt is insufficient to feed the population who are seeing food prices soar.
On their social networks, Hamas officials denounced this Sunday the dramatic humanitarian situation in the territory.
They accuse the Israeli forces of “preventing the arrival of aid” in Gaza, particularly in the northern part where the fighting continues and where “the stage of catastrophe” has been passed.