‘There is a date’: Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vows Rafah invasion will go ahead

Israel’s prime minister has reiterated his vow to invade the city of Rafah in southern Gaza and declared: “There is a date.”

Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly said Israel must send ground forces into the city, which he says is Hamas’ last stronghold in the besieged enclave.

It comes as Hamas rejected the latest Israeli ceasefire proposal, after an official said no progress had been made in negotiations over the weekend in Cairo, Egypt.

“There is no change in the position of the occupation (Israel) and therefore, there is nothing new in the Cairo talks,” the Hamas official, who asked not to be identified, told the news agency Reuters.

Middle East latest: Hamas rejects latest ceasefire proposal

The international community has opposed an invasion of Rafah, arguing the roughly 1.4 million civilians who have sought shelter there will be in danger. Israel has insisted it has a plan to protect the civilians.

On Monday, Mr Netanyahu said he had received a detailed report on the talks in Cairo. However, he said the Rafah operation was essential for an Israeli victory.

“We are constantly working to achieve our goals, first and foremost the release of all our hostages and achieving a complete victory over Hamas,” he said in a video statement.

“This victory requires entry into Rafah and the elimination of the terrorist battalions there. It will happen – there is a date,” he added without elaborating.

The US, Israel’s closest ally, has said invading Rafah would be a mistake and has demanded to see a credible plan to protect civilians.

Israel is purchasing 40,000 tents to prepare for the evacuation, an Israeli official told the Associated Press.

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Mr Netanyahu’s remarks came as streams of Palestinians returned to the southern city of Khan Younis on Monday to salvage what they could from the swathes of destruction left by Israel’s offensive, a day after the military announced it was withdrawing its troops from the area.

Allowing civilians to return to Khan Younis could relieve some pressure on Rafah – but many have no homes to return to and face the danger of unexploded ordnance left by the fighting.

Some 33,207 Palestinians have been killed during six months of conflict, Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry said in an update on Monday. Its figures do not distinguish between fighters and civilians.

The war erupted after Hamas killed 1,200 people in southern Israel in a cross-border attack on 7 October.

The Israeli army says over 600 of its soldiers have been killed in combat since then.