An Israeli victory in Gaza is contingent on a military operation in Rafah to destroy Hamas operations there, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told ABC News yesterday, as he pushed back against international pressure to refrain from such a move.
“Those who say that under no circumstances should we enter Rafah are basically saying lose the war, keep Hamas there,” Netanyahu told ABC.
“We’re going to get the remaining Hamas terrorist battalions in Rafah, which is the last bastion, but we’re going to do it, and in this, I agree with the Americans, while providing safe passage for the civilian population so they can leave,” Netanyahu stated.
Israel, he said, is “working out a detailed plan to do so.”
“This is part of our war effort to get civilians out of harm’s way; it’s part of Hamas’s effort to keep them in harm’s way,” he noted.
“Victory is within reach,” Netanyahu stressed.
The UN, the EU, the United Kingdom, Germany, Ireland, the US, and Jordan have all spoken out against such an operation, raising skepticism about the possibility of a credible plan to protect civilians.
British Foreign Secretary David Cameron posted on X that he was “Deeply concerned about the prospect of a military offensive in Rafah – over half of Gaza’s population are sheltering in the area.
“The priority must be an immediate pause in the fighting to get aid in and hostages out, then progress towards a sustainable, permanent ceasefire,” he added.
United States Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield told National Public Radio on Saturday night, “We have been absolutely clear that under the current circumstances in Rafah, a military operation now in that area cannot proceed.
“It would dramatically exacerbate the humanitarian emergency that we’re all seeking to alleviate right now. Israel has an obligation to ensure that civilians, that [Gaza’s] civilian population is safe and that they’re secure and that they have access to humanitarian aid and to basic services.
“And I think you heard the secretary, [of State Antony Blinken,] make those statements clearly during his meetings and in his engagements with the press when he was there,” she said.
Israel's allies have called on Israel not to go into Rafah, citing humanitarian concerns
Egypt has insisted that Palestinians may not be allowed to flee across its border and warned against the forcible displacement of the population.
In an interview with Israel Radio, Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter (Likud) said that Cairo had no say in what happened in Rafah, which is located near Egypt’s border with Gaza.
“Egypt has a lot to say until the Philadelphi Corridor,” Dichter said, as he explained that its treaty with Israel does give it input over actions that occur between its border and that buffer zone, but not in Rafah, which is in Gaza.
“Egypt has no say about what happens Rafah,” Dichter said.
More to the point, he said, Israel had wanted to place Gaza, certainly Rafah, within Egypt’s borders, when it negotiated that treaty, but “Egypt did not agree to accept the Gaza Strip or part of it.”
In his interview with ABC, Netanyahu defended Israel’s treatment of civilians in combat zones in Gaza. Hamas has asserted that over 28,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war.
Netanyahu said that half of the Palestinians killed were terrorists, as he explained that the IDF was leading a precision operation that was unparalleled in military history when battling a non-state actor.
“We have brought down the civilian to terrorist casualties ratio, down to below one to one, which is considerably less than in any other theater of similar warfare,” he said.
“We have killed and wounded over 20,000 Hamas terrorists, out of that about 12,000 fighters. We are doing everything we can to minimize civilian casualties and continue to do so,” Netanyahu said.
“What we are not going to do is to let Hamas emerge victorious, and if we leave it will be a tremendous victory for the Iran terror axis,” he said.
“It has to be understood and victory will be the best thing that will happen. I cannot see a future for Palestinians or peace in the Middle East if Hamas is victorious in Gaza,” he said.
Netanyahu doubled down on his insistence that the IDF must retain security control of Gaza and the West Bank.
“We want to bring about the demilitarization of the [Gaza] strip. This requires our supreme security control and responsibility over the entire area west of Jordan, including the Gaza Strip. There is no substitute for it in the foreseeable future,” Netanyahu told his government ministers on Sunday during a visit to an army base.
“We say this to the international community, to the US president, to all the leaders. There is no substitute for that,” Netanyahu said.
The question of continued IDF control of Gaza after the war has been one of the sticking points between Israel and the increasing points of contention between Netanyahu and the Biden administration.
“We will always need to have security control. If that requires a stay inside, then we will stay inside [Gaza]. If it requires us to enter anywhere, then the IDF will be able to arrive anywhere at any time,” Netanyahu stated.
The goal is “nothing less than total victory,” Netanyahu said, as he noted that Israel is facing mounting international opposition to its military campaign to destroy Hamas in Gaza. “These pressures are increasing,” Netanyahu stated.
During his interview with ABC, Netanyahu also spoke about his vision for a two-state solution.
“Everybody who talks about a two-state solution, I ask what do you mean by that?
“Should the Palestinians have an army? Can they sign a military pact with Iran? Can they import rockets from North Korea and other deadly weapons? Should they continue to educate their children for terrorism and annihilation – of course not.
“The substance in a future peace agreement, which everyone says is far off, is that the Palestinians should have the powers to govern themselves, but none of the powers to threaten Israel.
“The most important power that has to remain in Israel’s hands is the overriding security control in the area west of the Jordan, which includes Gaza. Otherwise, history has shown that terrorism comes back,” he said.