Israel-Hamas war: Netanyahu sets 'date' for Rafah offensive

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that there was a date set for an Israeli military offensive into the southern city of Rafah.

"Today I received a detailed report on the talks in Cairo, we are constantly working to achieve our goals, first and foremost the release of all our hostages and achieving a complete victory over Hamas," Netanyahu said in a video message in Hebrew posted on social media platform X, formerly Twitter. 

Netanyahu reiterated that victory over Hamas militants "requires entry into Rafah and the elimination of the terrorist battalions there. It will happen - there is a date." He did not mention any timeline. 

Israel's plans for a Rafah invasion have been met with strong opposition from international allies due to the spiraling humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

More than 1 million Palestinians are currently sheltering in Rafah from fighting elsewhere in the sealed-off Gaza Strip.

Netanyahu has been hinting at an invasion of Rafah since at least February, including setting a deadline for the start of Ramadan on March 10, which came and went. 

The latest announcement comes just a day after the Israeli military said it had withdrawn most of its ground troops from the southern Gaza strip, leaving just one brigade in the city of Khan Younis.

Dismantling Hamas means Israel 'must go to Rafah,' IDF tells DW

Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner, a spokesman for Israel's military, told DW that the IDF is continuing its mission to dismantle and destroy Hamas as a governing authority in the Gaza Strip. 

"We do know that in the Gaza Strip there are still at least six operational battalions of Hamas," he said, adding that four of them operate in the Rafah area and two in more central Gaza. 

"If we are going to be successful at dismantling Hamas, we're going to have to go to Rafah," the spokesman stressed.

According to Lerner, a different type of operation would be required in Rafah, including both precision airstrikes and ground operations based on intelligence and operational flexibility. 

He said the Israeli military is getting closer every day to dismantling Hamas. "That is the goal number one alongside with goal number two of bringing home the hostages," the spokesman said. 

He also added that there is no quick fix to the reality. "We're going to take our time until we reach our goals," Lerner said.

US reiterates opposition to Rafah invasion plans

On Monday, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said that the US continues to oppose a full-scale invasion of Rafah.

Miller spoke with reporters after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a "date" had been set for an Israeli military operation in the southern Gazan city.

Since February, the US has warned an invasion of Rafah would unleash a humanitarian disaster. More than 1 million displaced people are sheltering in the city.

"We have made clear to Israel that we think a full-scale military invasion of Rafah would have an enormously harmful effect on those civilians and that it would ultimately hurt Israel's security," Miller said. 

The White House has said it has not seen signs a major ground operation is imminent in Rafah. 

"It's not just a question of Israel presenting a plan to us. We have made clear to them that we think that there is a better way to achieve what is a legitimate goal, which is to degrade and dismantle and defeat the Hamas battalions that still remain in Rafah," Miller said.

US President Joe Biden has previously said invading Rafah would be crossing a "red line."