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Netanyahu rejects calls for elections, says Rafah invasion will happen
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected growing international calls for elections in Israel and to delay a ground invasion of Rafah, accusing global allies of trying to “silence the country.”
“It’s no secret that the international pressure against us is growing,” Netanyahu told a cabinet meeting today. “They do this by trying to bring about elections now, in the midst of the war,” he added, saying that elections would “silence” Israel for “at least six months.”
Netanyahu’s comments came after Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer, a longtime supporter of Israel who led a congressional delegation to the country in October in a show of U.S. support, described Netanyahu as an “obstacle to peace” last week and called for fresh elections.
“If we stop the war now, before achieving all its objectives, it means that Israel has lost the war, and we will not allow that,” Netanyahu said.
He added that “no international pressure will stop us from achieving all the goals of the war” and that a ground invasion of Rafah, where over 1.4 million Palestinians are sheltering, would go ahead.
92 people killed in Gaza overnight
The death toll in Gaza climbed past 31,600 today after 92 people were killed overnight, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health.
More than 130 people were injured in nine separate attacks, the Health Ministry added.
Mossad chief expected to resume Gaza ceasefire talks in Doha on Sunday
DOHA — The head of Israeli intelligence is expected to lead ceasefire talks with mediators which resume in Qatar on Sunday in direct response to a new proposal from Hamas, a source close to the talks told Reuters on Saturday.
The talks between Mossad head David Barnea, Qatar’s prime minister and Egyptian officials will focus on remaining gaps between Israel and Hamas including over prisoner releases and humanitarian aid, the source said.
Israel had said on Friday it would be sending a delegation to Doha, but did not spell out when it would do so or who would take part. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was expected to convene the security cabinet before the talks.
Israeli officials were not immediately available to comment on Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath.
Barnea was involved in previous significant pushes for a deal. A short-lived truce in November was agreed and came into effect after his participation in talks in Doha. His last meeting with Qatar’s prime minister in January led to a proposal for a temporary ceasefire that Hamas ultimately rejected.
Hamas this week presented a new ceasefire proposal to mediators and Israel’s ally the United States that includes the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for freedom for Palestinian prisoners.
Repeated efforts to agree a ceasefire and exchange hostages for prisoners have fallen apart this year, despite mounting international pressure over the human cost of Israel’s ground and air assault in Gaza.
Situation in Gaza ‘catastrophic & deteriorates by the minute,’ UNRWA says
The situation in Gaza is “catastrophic & deteriorates by the minute,” said the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.
UNRWA teams are working to provide aid to families in need in the enclave, including flour, dairy, water, medicine and hygiene kits.
“Safe, unimpeded & sustained access across the #GazaStrip is needed NOW,” the organization said on X.
WHO director-general ‘gravely concerned’ about reports of Israeli military expansion into Rafah
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus is “gravely concerned” about reports of an imminent Israeli military expansion into Rafah.
“Further escalation of violence in this densely populated area would lead to many more deaths and suffering,” Tedros wrote on X.
Over a million Palestinians have been displaced to Rafah.
“There are no fully functional, safe health facilities that they can reach elsewhere in #Gaza,” he wrote. “Many people are too fragile, hungry and sick to be moved again.”
Tedros appealed to Israel not to move forward with the military expansion.
“This humanitarian catastrophe must not be allowed to worsen,” he wrote.
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