Hamas said Israel would not achieve its goal of defeating the armed group and rescuing hostages in Rafah even though Tel Aviv announced it would “deal painful blows” to Hamas.
“Even if Israel advances troops to attack Rafah, they will not achieve what they want,” Ghazi Hamad, a senior Hamas official, said in a telephone interview from Qatar on April 25.
The Hamas official added that Israel has spent nearly seven months in Gaza and destroyed many areas, “but so far has not been able to achieve any of its main goals, whether it is eliminating Hamas or freeing the kidnapped people.”
Israel previously committed to carrying out the operation in Rafah, despite strong opposition from the international community and many allies, along with concerns about the fate of about 1.5 million Palestinians taking refuge in the southern city. south of Gaza.
Ghazi Hamad, senior Hamas official, at a press conference in Gaza City in 2006. Photo: AFP
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on April 21 that Israel would increase military pressure on Hamas to rescue the approximately 130 remaining hostages in Gaza, while causing Hamas to suffer more “painful blows”.
Israeli government spokesman David Mencer said the war cabinet met on April 25 to “discuss how to eliminate the last Hamas battalions”. Mencer a day ago announced that the country’s army had destroyed “at least 18.19 out of 24 Hamas battalions” since the start of the ground attack campaign on Gaza on October 27, 2023.
“We have spoken to all parties involved in the conflict about the seriousness of the attack on Rafah, as Israel is moving towards its goal of carrying out more massacres and genocide,” Ghazi Hamad said. . “This will certainly threaten the negotiation effort because Israel clearly shows that it is only interested in continuing the war and has no intention of reaching an agreement.”
Qatar, the US and Egypt have mediated negotiations between Israel and Hamas, with the hope that the two sides will reach a ceasefire agreement and release the hostages. But negotiations have been stalled for many days. Israeli media reported that an Egyptian delegation is expected to arrive in the country today to start a new round of negotiations.
Location of Rafah city in Gaza. Graphics: Al Jazeera
Hamad accused Prime Minister Netanyahu of “manipulation and delay” to deceive the Israeli public and the international community that Tel Aviv is actively negotiating with Hamas. He added that Israeli leaders are trying to “distort the truth” by claiming that Hamas is an obstacle to negotiations.
Qatar and Egypt “tried very hard to reach an agreement”, but the Israeli side always resolved the issue “in a stupid and confusing way”, according to Hamad.
He said Hamas has made a post-conflict plan for Gaza and is working hard to ensure the reconstruction of the area, providing the necessary needs for people to have a better life.
Thanh Tam (According to AFP)
