Netanyahu: Israeli Army Will Enter Rafah

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, on Thursday, March 14, during a meeting with a group of soldiers from the Israeli army, rejected international pressure to prevent the Israeli army from entering the city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip. In a statement published on his social media account on 'X', Mr. Netanyahu said, 'We will enter Rafah and complete our mission to eliminate Hamas in order to restore security for the people of Israel and bring complete victory for the country.' He made these remarks at an Israeli army base. Many officials from various countries, including the United States, have warned Israel against attacking Rafah, where many people from Gaza have sought refuge. Israel claims that Hamas is present there. Rafah is located near the border with Egypt, and Israel is concerned about arms smuggling from that city to Gaza. Meanwhile, Mark Rutte, the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, in a report from his trip to Israel and Egypt on the social media platform 'X', wrote that during his meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu, he emphasized the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and in his meeting with the President of Egypt, he stressed the need for the release of all Hamas hostages. Mr. Rutte added, 'On Wednesday, in my meeting with Netanyahu, I reiterated my request for a significant increase and immediate delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza and urged him to refrain from further escalation of the conflict and attack on Rafah and to work towards stopping settler violence in the West Bank.' Benjamin Netanyahu told Israeli soldiers, 'We have been successfully fighting for five months, and this is a record in the history of Israel's wars.' Meanwhile, Chuck Schumer, the leader of the Democrats in the U.S. Senate, on Thursday called for elections in Israel to replace Mr. Netanyahu. He described the Israeli Prime Minister as an obstacle to peace and stated that the high civilian casualties in Gaza have led to a decrease in global support for Israel, reaching the lowest level in the country's history. Parts of this report were prepared with content from the Jerusalem Post and the New York Times.