Netanyahu stresses IDF will enter Rafah as Israel nears Gaza hostage deal

Border Police detectives arrested three suspects on Route 6, illegal residents, who had broken into and robbed homes and businesses in Israel's north, the Israel Police stated on Sunday with an accompanying video of the arrest.

Detectives additionally arrested another suspect for assisting the squad of burglars.

It was reported that a terrorist who was arrested overnight in the Gaza Strip attempted to attack Israeli security forces while they were transferring him for interrogation in Israeli territory. 

The terrorist, bound by plastic handcuffs, began to attack an IDF soldier as well as a female soldier from the military police as they tried to re-handcuff him with metal handcuffs after the initial interrogation.

The combat unit present at the scene opened fire and eliminated the terrorist.

The incident is under review

According to military sources, the incident is under investigation. Further, procedures regarding the arrest of terrorists in Palestinian territory and their subsequent transfer to the military police in Israeli territory are under review.

"A terrorist who was arrested during operational activity in the Gaza Strip attempted to attack an IDF soldier while being transferred to Israeli territory,” the IDF stated. “The combat team accompanying the detainee engaged him, opened fire, and killed the terrorist. There are no casualties to our forces. The circumstances of the case are under investigation."

War cabinet minister Benny Gantz, speaking during a visit to Israel's northern front, stressed that the government is pushing to advance the outline of a deal to bring hostages home as fighting in Gaza continues.

"The road is still long," Gantz said in a recorded address. "My message to the Israeli public is - we do not stop until they are brought home. We will not stop fighting until our hostages return. 

"And," the National Unity head added, "we do not end the battle until all residents are returned safely to their homes and the threat of Hamas on Israelis' security is removed.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in an early Sunday morning interview with CBS, told the broadcaster that the IDF was heading into Gaza's Rafah and that plans for such an operation would be approved that day, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) stated.

Reporting on Netanyahu's remarks in the CBS interview, Reuters noted that the operation would include a plan to facilitate the evacuation of Palestinian civilians, as well as the assault on the local Hamas battalions.

"We are working on a hostage deal. I want a deal to release the hostages, and I appreciate the efforts of the United States. I do not know if we will get a deal, but if Hamas comes down to a reasonable situation, there will be a deal," Netanyahu said during the interview, Maariv quoted the PM as stating.

Speaking on the efforts to block a Palestinian state, the PMO added, "This week, we achieved a majority of 99 Knesset members in favor of my proposal against international recognition of establishing a Palestinian state. This is an unprecedented majority."

Reuters added that the prime minister said that what may delay the IDF operation in Rafah is the possible hostage deal.

The United States, Egypt, Qatar, and Israel have come to an understanding of the "basic contours" of a hostage deal for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told CNN on Sunday.

The deal is still under negotiation, said Sullivan, who added there would have to be indirect discussions by Qatar and Egypt with Hamas.

Prime Minister Netanyahu on Sunday said it was not clear yet whether a hostage deal would materialize from ongoing talks, declining to discuss specifics but saying the Islamist terrorist group Hamas needed to "come down to a reasonable situation."

The United States, Egypt, Qatar and Israel have come to an understanding of "basic contours" of a hostage deal for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on CNN on Sunday.

The deal is still under negotiation, said Sullivan, who added there will have to be indirect discussions by Qatar and Egypt with Hamas.

US President Joe Biden has not been briefed on Israel's plan for military operations in Rafah, but believes civilian life must be protected, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Sunday in an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press" program.

"We do not believe that an operation, a major military operation, should proceed in Rafah unless there is a clear and executable plan to protect those civilians, to get them to safety and to feed, clothe and house them," Sullivan said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in an early Sunday morning interview with CBS, told the broadcaster that the IDF was heading into Gaza's Rafah and that plans for such an operation would be approved that day, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) stated.

"We are working on a hostage deal. I want a deal to release the hostages, and I appreciate the efforts of the United States. I do not know if we will get a deal, but if Hamas backs down from their delusional demands, there will be a deal," Netanyahu said during the interview, Maariv quoted the PM as stating.

Speaking on the efforts to block a Palestinian state, the PMO added, "This week, we achieved a majority of 99 Knesset members in favor of my proposal against international recognition of establishing a Palestinian state. This is an unprecedented majority."

Sgt. Oz Daniel, a 19-year-old IDF soldier captured and taken hostage by Hamas on October 7, died in Gaza captivity, the IDF confirmed on Sunday.

According to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, Daniel, whose body is still being held by Hamas in Gaza, was initially kidnapped along with the rest of his tank crew. 

The Israeli military on Sunday additionally confirmed the names of two other soldiers who fell in battle in the Gaza Strip.

Staff-Sergeant Narya Belete, 21, of Shavei Shomron, was a soldier in the Givati reconnaissance unit. Balete was killed in combat in southern Gaza on Saturday.

Later, the IDF published the name of Staff-Sergeant Eli Zrihen, 20, from Jerusalem. Zrihen, also of the Givati reconnaissance unit, fell in southern Gaza on Saturday.

From left to right, fallen IDF soldiers Ido Eli Zrihen, Eyal Shuminov, and Narya Belete. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

IDF company commander falls in Gaza battle

On Saturday evening, the IDF announced the death of Major Eyal Shuminov, a 24-year-old company commander in the Shaked Battalion of the Givati Brigade.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum released a statement on Daniel, noting the fallen soldier's love for life, "sense of humor, and a giant smile."

"We share in the heavy sorrow of the Daniel family and send our condolences to his parents, Mirav and Amir, and his twin sister, Hadar," the forum stated.

The statement also noted that Daniel was a skilled guitar player who loved the rock band Guns N' Roses.

"He was surrounded by many friends and was always the one who made everyone laugh," the forum added. "His friends recount that it was impossible to ignore the moral person he was.

Hamas official Mousa Abu Marzouk claimed that Hamas did not anticipate Israel’s response to its October 7 massacre, according to a translation of an interview given to Egypt’s Alghad TV on Thursday by the Middle East Media Research Institute.

Asked by the interviewer, “When the [al-Qassam] brigades did what they did on October 7, did they have any expectations regarding the consequences of the attack?” Marzouk responded that nobody had anticipated Israel’s response. 

“Nobody in the whole world expected them to be so barbaric,” Marzouk said. “And in Such violation of all international laws, treaties, and norms. Nobody expected the [Israeli response] to be so barbaric because, ultimately, the resistance fights soldiers. It is not fighting civilians with planes and tanks.”

The same Hamas official claimed in October that terror tunnels had been constructed to protect Hamas terrorists and that it was Israel's and the United Nation's responsibility to protect Palestinian civilian lives.

The IDF has been forced to fight on Gazan terrain as Hamas has a large amount of military infrastructure built within civilian areas of Gaza. Notably, terror tunnels used by Hamas have been located under hospitals and the UNRWA headquarters. 

Despite evacuations in Gaza, the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry has claimed that over 30,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel began operations. 

Senior Hamas Official Mousa Abu Marzouk: Nobody Could Have Anticipated the Consequences of October 7; We Did Not Expect a Barbaric World War against Us, in Violation of International Law #Hamas #Palestinians #October7massacre pic.twitter.com/H9x95vPk5b

— MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) February 25, 2024

The interviewer prompted again, “What would you do if you had expected these consequences?”

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich will oppose any hostage deal agreed upon under the new reported outline, he told a conference in Jerusalem on Sunday afternoon, as per Israeli media.

"The negotiations are being conducted in a ridiculous manner," he was quoted by N12 as saying. "I will vote against any deal with the current outline as it was reported."