PM says Rafah offensive key to victory as Hamas threatens to torpedo hostage talks

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday slammed calls for Israel to avoid carrying out a military offensive inside Rafah, as the military appeared set to turn its attention to the southernmost city in the Gaza Strip, a crucial goal in the war as it serves as a smuggling haven for the enclave’s terror groups.

Despite international alarm over the potential carnage in a city crammed with more than a million displaced Palestinians, the prime minister told ABC News’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” the offensive is key to crushing Hamas, the terror organization that has ruled Gaza for more than 16 years.

“Those who say that under no circumstances should we enter Rafah are basically saying lose the war. Keep Hamas there,” he added.

War erupted when Hamas-led terrorists stormed southern Israel on October 7 to kill nearly 1,200 people, mainly civilians, while taking 253 hostages of all ages, committing numerous atrocities, and weaponizing sexual violence on a mass scale.

Rafah has become home to close to many of the Strip’s displaced Palestinians who were pushed south by the months-long war. READ MORE