JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered troops to prepare to enter the overcrowded Gazan city of Rafah, even as a new round of talks aimed at securing a truce with Hamas were set to open Thursday in Cairo.
Netanyahu announced the order after rejecting Hamas鈥檚 response to a ceasefire proposal at the center of intense recent diplomatic efforts, though visiting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken insisted on Wednesday that he still saw 鈥渟pace for agreement to be reached鈥�.
Concerns were mounting, meanwhile, for the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who have sought refuge in Rafah along the Egyptian border, with UN chief Antonio Guterres warning a military push into the city 鈥渨ould exponentially increase what is already a humanitarian nightmare鈥�.
In televised remarks Wednesday, Netanyahu said he had ordered troops to 鈥減repare to operate鈥� in the city and that 鈥渢otal victory鈥� over Hamas was just months away.
Regarding the ceasefire proposal, he added: 鈥淕iving in to the bizarre demands of Hamas that we have just heard will... only invite another massacre.鈥�
Blinken, who is on yet another trip to the region to press for a truce, told reporters in Tel Aviv that Hamas鈥檚 counter-proposal at least offered an opportunity 鈥渢o pursue negotiations鈥�.
鈥淲hile there are some clear non-starters in Hamas鈥檚 response, we do think it creates space for agreement to be reached, and we will work at that relentlessly until we get there,鈥� Blinken said, hours after meeting Netanyahu.
Since October 7, the Lebanese-Israeli border has seen near-daily exchanges of fire between Israel and the Iran-backed Hamas ally Hezbollah.
International Crisis Group president Comfort Ero warned Wednesday that the hostilities around the region increased the possibility of the situation boiling over.
鈥淚 think the big three 鈥� Iran, Israel and the US 鈥� do not want to see escalation,鈥� she told AFP in Washington. 鈥淏ut we are also seeing that every day we鈥檙e one step closer to a major miscalculation.鈥�