A dead person killed during an Israeli army strike is taken into the hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip. File
| Photo Credit: AP

Smoke rises as a residential building collapses after an Israeli air strike, in Gaza City, on September 8, 2025.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Jerusalem:

US President Donald Trump on Saturday floated the idea that Jordan and Egypt should take more Palestinians from Gaza, where Israel’s military actions have killed tens of thousands and created a dire humanitarian situation. The idea was welcomed by Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, but Palestinian groups including Islamic Jihad and Hamas vowed to oppose it. 

On Saturday, Trump said he had spoken to Jordan’s King Abdullah II about moving Palestinians out of Gaza. “I’d like Egypt to take people. And I’d like Jordan to take people,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One after his call with Jordan’s King Abdullah.

“It (Gaza) is literally a demolition site, almost everything is demolished and people are dying there, so I’d rather get involved with some of the Arab nations and build housing at a different location where they can maybe live in peace for a change,” Trump said, adding that he expected to talk to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Sunday.

Israel Welcomes The Idea

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a strong opponent of stopping the war in Gaza, welcomed Trump’s proposal. “The idea of helping them find other places to start a better life is a great idea. After years of glorifying terrorism, they will be able to establish new and good lives in other places,” Smotrich said in a statement.

“Only out-of-the-box thinking with new solutions will bring a solution of peace and security. I will, with God’s help, work with the prime minister and the cabinet to ensure there is an operational plan to implement this as soon as possible,” he added.

Most Gazans are Palestinian refugees or their descendants. Any attempt to move them from Gaza could evoke dark historical memories of what the Arab world calls the “Nakba” or catastrophe — the mass displacement of Palestinians during Israel’s creation in 1948.

Palestinian Groups Oppose The Proposal

Palestinian group Islamic Jihad on Sunday condemned Trump’s idea to relocate Gazans to Egypt and Jordan, calling it an encouragement of “war crimes”.

Describing Trump’s idea as “deplorable,” the group, which fought a deadly war with Israel in Gaza alongside Hamas until a January 19 ceasefire, stated: “This proposal falls within the framework of encouraging war crimes and crimes against humanity by forcing our people to leave their land.”

A senior Hamas official also said that it would oppose Trump’s idea to relocate Gazans to Egypt and Jordan.

“As they have foiled every plan for displacement and alternative homelands over the decades, our people will also foil such projects,” said Bassem Naim, a member of the Hamas political bureau, told news agency AFP.

Situation In Gaza

The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered on October 7, 2023, when Hamas forces attacked Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking around 250 hostages. 

Israel’s subsequent military assault on Gaza has killed more than 47,000 people, according to the Gaza health ministry, and led to accusations of genocide and war crimes that Israel denies.

A ceasefire went into effect a week ago and has led to the release of some Israeli hostages held by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
 

Washington DC:

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken isn’t having the best final days in office, with the last 48 hours being particularly unforgiving for the top diplomat facing heat over controversial decisions taken by him during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

Far from the farewell he probably hoped for, Antony Blinken’s last press conference as Secretary of State turned out to be a nightmarish experience as he found himself on the receiving end of a verbal lashing by two journalists covering the Gaza war.

Chaos ensued as independent journalist Sam Husseini confronted Mr Blinken while he was defending the Biden administration’s decisions and policies during the 15-month war in Gaza. “Everyone from Amnesty International to the ICJ (International Court of Justice) is saying Israel is doing genocide and extermination, and you’re telling me to respect the process?” Mr Husseini questioned.

Moments later, while he was sitting quiet after the verbal confrontation, security personnel showed up at the journalists desk and started to forcefully lift him up.

Reporter @samhusseini was just physically dragged from Blinken’s briefing. “Why aren’t you at The Hague?” he asked. pic.twitter.com/Nvs10aFjgh

— Ryan Grim (@ryangrim) January 16, 2025

“Stop manhandling me,” urged the journalist, but it fell to deaf ears. The security, now surrounding him, picked him up and started dragging him out as others watched in shock. Just before being physically thrown out of the room, the journalist shouted at Mr Blinken in anguish, saying “Criminal! Why aren’t you at The Hague!?” referring to the International Criminal Court which had sentenced Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in November last year.

An uncomfortable silence engulfed the conference room. Mr Blinken, clam and unmoved by what just happened, continued his defense of United States’ policy in Gaza and support to Israel’s Netanyahu, though, he stressed, “with differences” on many counts.

Just as he was about to continue his briefing, another journalist – Max Blumenthal, news editor of Grayzone, interrupted him in a harsh, accusatory tone. “Why did you keep the bombs flowing when we had a deal in May?” he asked, immediately following it with a series of questions accusing Mr Blinken of being a “Zionist”.

“Why did you sacrifice the rules-based order on the mantle of your commitment to Zionism? Why did you allow my friends to be massacred? Why did you ” he shouted.

My final words for Tony Blinken, Secretary of Genocide, and his smirking press secretary, Matt Miller pic.twitter.com/DuLnepSwDl

— Max Blumenthal (@MaxBlumenthal) January 16, 2025

“Your father-in-law was an Israeli lobbyist, your grandfather was an Israeli lobbyist – Are you compromised by Israel? Why did you let the holocaust of our times to happen? How does it feel to have your legacy being genocide? You smirked through the whole thing” he continued in a slanderous tone as State Department officials escorted the journalist out of the conference room.

HECKLED BY A PROTESTER

Just a day earlier, at a farewell address to the public, Secretary Blinken got heckled by a pro-Palestine protester. Blaming him for the “genocide” in Gaza, the woman protester said, “You will forever be known as Bloody Blinken, Secretary of Genocide. The blood of innocent civilians, of children is on your hands.”

The video, which went viral on social media, shows Mr Blinken remaining calm through the insulting rant. He even requested the protester to allow him to respond to those remarks, telling her that he respects her views. But as she continued her shouting, security stepped in, removing her from the venue. He then continued with his speech.

JUST IN: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken gets heckled and yelled at by protestors.

“You will forever be known as Bloody Blinken, secretary of genocide.”

“We will never forget” – Yells a lady who is definitely not an dead Arab. pic.twitter.com/yrCg9C9Obd

— Dr Tariq Tramboo (@tariqtramboo) January 14, 2025

Both these occasions – the farewell speech and the last press conference – came immediately after a ceasefire deal was announced between Israel and Hamas, ending the 15-month war, which has left the Palestinian territory of Gaza utterly devastated. The war, which began on October 7, 2023, after Hamas attacked Israel, killing more than 1,200 civilians and taking around 250 hostages, has left more than 46,000 Palestinians dead and over 2.3 million others homeless and displaced in Gaza.

While Hamas’s “terrorist” attack has been condemned worldwide, Israel’s vastly disproportionate military response has been widely called a “genocide”, though Israel has rejected these accusations. The International Criminal Court has even sentenced Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu for “war crimes” and has demanded his arrest. US and Israel have rejected the order, with the Israeli prime minister defending his actions in the war, calling it “defending the Jewish motherland”.
 

Abu Dhabi:

Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy warned on Monday during a visit to the region it would “not be a pretty day” if the hostages held in Gaza were not released before the US President-elect’s inauguration.

Steve Witkoff, who will formally take up the position when Mr Trump’s administration starts, said he hoped and prayed there would be ceasefire in Gaza between Palestinian militant group Hamas and Israel before Trump takes office on Jan. 20.

“You heard what the president said, they better be released,” he said, referring to Mr Trump.

“Listen to what the president has got to say. It’s not a pretty day if they’re not released,” Mr Witkoff added, in response to Reuters questions on the sidelines of a bitcoin conference in UAE capital Abu Dhabi.

President-elect Mr Trump said on social media last week there would be “hell to pay” if the hostages were not released before his inauguration.

Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people and captured more than 250, including Israeli-American dual nationals, during their Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel, according to Israeli tallies.

More than 100 hostages have been freed through negotiations or Israeli military rescue operations. Of the 101 still held in Gaza, roughly half are believed to be alive.

More than 44,700 people have been killed in the assault that Israel launched on Gaza in response, authorities in the Hamas-run territory say. Thousands of others are feared dead under the rubble.

Mr Witkoff earlier spoke to an audience at the Bitcoin conference where those attending paid as much as $9,999 to access special sessions, which are closed to media.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

1. On Saturday night, Hezbollah fired at least 10 missiles into northern towns and cities of Israel’s Jezreel Valley, the Times of Israel reported. This was the deepest incursion by Hezbollah rockets into Israeli territory since the conflict began in early October. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) intercepted most of the missiles, but one man in his 60s suffered minor injuries from shrapnel.
2. Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the missile barrage and stated that it had aimed at the Ramat David Airbase. Located 50 km from the Lebanon border, the airbase is a key strategic site for the Israeli Air Force. 
3. In response, Israeli jets carried out a series of retaliatory strikes across southern Lebanon. The IDF reported that its airstrikes targeted at least 110 Hezbollah positions, including rocket launchers and operational facilities. The IDF claims it successfully disrupted Hezbollah’s preparations for further rocket launches.
4. The IDF stated that their Saturday afternoon air raids hit approximately 290 Hezbollah sites, including thousands of rocket launcher barrels, as part of their strategy to dismantle Hezbollah’s rocket-firing capabilities. These preemptive strikes were launched to degrade Hezbollah’s ability to launch large-scale attacks on Israeli territory.
5. The intensification of Israeli airstrikes follows Hezbollah’s earlier attack on Israeli military targets, including seven positions in northern Israel and the Golan Heights. Israel’s military reported that Hezbollah had fired about 90 rockets at Israeli forces during these engagements.
6. In addition to military targets, Israel conducted an airstrike on southern Beirut, killing senior Hezbollah commanders. According to Lebanon’s Health Ministry, the strike left 37 people dead. Among those killed were three children and seven women. Hezbollah confirmed that Ibrahim Aqil, the head of its elite Radwan Force, and other high-ranking commanders were among the dead. 
7. Following the loss of its commanders, Hezbollah vowed retaliation. Ahmed Mahmud Wahbi, another high-ranking Hezbollah commander, was also killed in the same Israeli strike. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah condemned the attack, calling it an act of war, and promised retribution against Israel.
8. The United Nations has expressed concern over the situation, calling for “maximum restraint” from all parties. Germany and other nations have urged an immediate de-escalation. International mediators, particularly from the United States, are working to prevent the Israel-Hezbollah conflict from spiralling into a regional war.
9. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced an expansion of the country’s war objectives, including the return of northern Israeli residents, who have been forced to evacuate due to Hezbollah’s attacks. Netanyahu said the military’s focus was on dismantling Hezbollah’s ability to pose a threat to Israel’s northern borders, stating that the country’s actions speak for themselves.
10. Amid the heightened conflict, the US State Department has issued an advisory for American citizens in Lebanon, urging them to leave the country while commercial flights are still available. The US raised its travel advisory for Lebanon in July following another Israeli strike that killed a Hezbollah commander in Beirut.

Doha, Qatar:

Hamas said Friday it rejected “new conditions” in a Gaza ceasefire proposal that US-led mediators presented during two days of talks in Qatar.

Diplomatic efforts have so far failed to alleviate the suffering endured over more than 10 months of war, but US President Joe Biden insisted after the latest round of talks that “we are closer than we have ever been”.

He is sending US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Israel this weekend to push the latest proposal, the State Department said.

Egyptian, Qatari and US mediators have been seeking to finalise details of a framework initially outlined by Biden in May, which he said Israel had proposed.

In a joint statement, the mediators said they had presented both sides with a proposal that “bridges remaining gaps” and will continue working in the coming days to hash out the specifics on humanitarian provisions and the hostage-prisoners swap.

Talks aiming to secure a rapid deal are set to resume in Cairo “before the end of next week”.

Hamas, which did not attend the Doha talks, swiftly announced its opposition to what it called “new conditions” from Israel in the latest plan.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on mediators to “pressure” Hamas to accept Biden’s framework.

Threats by Iran and its proxies to attack Israel have added renewed urgency to the efforts to hammer out a Gaza ceasefire, with mediators seeking a deal in the hopes of dousing a wider regional conflict. 

“No one in the region should take actions to undermine this process,” Biden warned, later telling reporters, “There’s just a couple more issues, I think we’ve got a shot.”

– ‘Cataclysmic’ consequences –
An informed source told AFP Hamas had objected to conditions about keeping Israeli troops on Gaza’s border with Egypt and terms related to the release of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Israeli hostages.

Western ally Jordan, however, put the blame squarely on Netanyahu for blocking a deal, with Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi urging pressure “by everyone who wishes to see this through to completion”.

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy and his French counterpart Stephane Sejourne held talks in Israel on Friday to press the deal.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz told his visiting counterparts he expects foreign support if Iran seeks to avenge the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. 

Sejourne replied that it would be “inappropriate” to discuss responding to any attack while diplomacy to stop it from happening is in high gear.

A senior US official, speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity, said Iran would face “cataclysmic” consequences if it strikes Israel.

A deadly attack by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank late Thursday drew international condemnation and calls for sanctions, including against government ministers, over the surge in settler violence against Palestinians since the Gaza war began.

The Israeli military said “dozens of Israeli civilians, some of them masked”, entered the village of Jit and “set fire to vehicles and structures in the area, hurled rocks and Molotov cocktails”. A Palestinian man was shot dead.

The West Bank-based Palestinian foreign ministry described the attack as “organised state terrorism”.

The European Union’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said he would propose sanctions against Israeli government “enablers” of Jewish settler violence.

Israeli far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a proponent of West Bank settlements, was quick to join other Israeli leaders in condemning Thursday’s attack by “criminals”.

First polio case recorded

Hamas’s unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel that triggered the war resulted in the deaths of 1,198 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Militants also seized 251 hostages, 111 of whom are still held in Gaza, including 39 the military says are dead. More than 100 were freed during a one-week truce in November.

On Thursday, the toll from Israel’s retaliatory military campaign topped 40,000, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, which does not provide a breakdown of civilian and militant casualties.

The war has devastated the besieged territory’s healthcare infrastructure, prompting repeated warnings from the World Health Organization about the risk of preventable diseases.

On Friday, the Palestinian health ministry reported an unvaccinated 10-month-old child in Gaza had been diagnosed with polio, the territory’s first case in 25 years, according to the WHO.

The announcement came hours after UN chief Antonio Guterres called for two seven-day breaks in the Gaza war to vaccinate more than 640,000 children against type 2 poliovirus, which was first detected in the territory’s wastewater in June.

As truce talks were underway, thousands of civilians were on the move again inside the Palestinian territory after the Israeli military issued fresh evacuation orders ahead of imminent military action.

The UN estimated the orders affect more than 170,000 people, forcing them to pack into the shrinking remnants of an area declared a humanitarian safe zone.

The area where people have been told to relocate to makes up just 11 percent of Gaza, according to the UN.

“During each round of negotiations, they exert pressure by forcing evacuations and committing massacres,” Issa Murad, a Palestinian displaced to Deir al-Balah, said of the Israeli forces.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres met Kuwait’s Deputy Foreign Minister Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah at Kuwait international airport in Kuwait City.
| Photo Credit: AFP

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on My 12 appealed for an immediate halt to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, the return of hostages and a “surge” in humanitarian aid to the besieged Palestinian territory.

“I repeat my call, the world’s call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, the unconditional release of all hostages and an immediate surge in humanitarian aid,” Mr. Guterres said in a video address to an international donors’ conference in Kuwait. “But a ceasefire will only be the start. It will be a long road back from the devastation and trauma of this war,” he added.

Israeli strikes on Gaza continued on May 12 after it expanded an evacuation order for Rafah despite international outcry over its military incursion into eastern areas of the city, effectively shutting a key aid crossing.

“The war in Gaza is causing horrific human suffering, devastating lives, tearing families apart and rendering huge numbers of people homeless, hungry and traumatised,” Mr. Guterres said.

His remarks were played at the opening of the conference in Kuwait organised by the International Islamic Charitable Organization (IICO) and the UN’s humanitarian coordination organisation OCHA.

On May 10, in Nairobi, the UN head warned Gaza faced an “epic humanitarian disaster” if Israel launched a full-scale ground operation in Rafah.

Gaza’s bloodiest-ever war began following Hamas’ unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel that resulted in the deaths of more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Vowing to destroy Hamas, Israel launched a retaliatory offensive that has killed more than 34,971 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.

Palestinians prepare to evacuate, after Israeli forces launched a ground and air operation in the eastern part of Rafah, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, May 11, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Israel ordered new evacuations in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah on May 11 as it prepared to expand its operation, saying it was also moving into an area in northern Gaza where Hamas has regrouped.

Fighting is escalating across the enclave with heavy clashes between Israeli troops and Palestinian militants on the outskirts of Rafah, leaving the crucial nearby aid crossings inaccessible and forcing more than 110,000 people to flee north.

Israel’s move into Rafah has so far been short of the full-scale invasion that it has planned.

The United Nations and other agencies have warned for weeks that an Israeli assault on Rafah, which borders Egypt near the main aid entry points, would cripple humanitarian operations and cause a disastrous surge in civilian casualties. More than 1.4 million Palestinians — half of Gaza’s population — have been sheltering in Rafah, most after fleeing Israel’s offensives elsewhere.

Army spokesman, Avichay Adraee, told Palestinians in Jabaliya and Beit Lahiya cities and the surrounding areas to leave their homes and head to shelters in the west of Gaza City, warning that people were in “a dangerous combat zone” and that Israel was going to strike with “great force”.

Heavy fighting is underway in northern Gaza, where Hamas appeared to have once again regrouped in an area where Israel has already launched punishing assaults. Battles erupted this week in the Zeitoun area on the outskirts of Gaza City, in the northern part of the territory. Northern Gaza was the first target of the ground offensive. Israel said late last year that it had mostly dismantled Hamas in the area.

At least 19 people, including eight women and eight children, were killed overnight in Central Gaza in three different strikes that hit the towns of Zawaida, Maghazi and Deir al Balah, according to Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al Balah and an Associated Press journalist who counted the bodies.

Israel’s bombardment and ground offensives in Gaza have killed more than 34,800 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its figures.

Much of Gaza has been destroyed and some 80% of Gaza’s population has been driven from their homes.

Smoke billows after Israeli bombardment in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Monday, May 6, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AFP

The story so far: Israel advancing with a long-anticipated ground invasion of Rafah and seizing control of the Gaza side of the border crossing with Egypt on Tuesday, shortly after Hamas announced its acceptance of a ceasefire proposal brokered by Egypt and Qatar, has cast a shadow on the prospects of halting the war, which has claimed the lives of over 34,700 people so far.

Israeli tanks moved into the southern part of the city overnight, while warplanes bombed areas near the crucial Rafah border crossing, killing at least 23 Palestinians and injuring several others. The invasion, described by the U.S. as a “limited operation,” unfolded a day after the Israeli military ordered over a million people sheltering in Rafah to evacuate parts of the southern Gaza Strip city and relocate to an “expanded humanitarian zone” near Khan Younis, in preparation for an assault to “eradicate” Hamas.

Explained | How bad is the humanitarian crisis in Gaza?

The military operation in Rafah: what, why and how

Israel ordered the Rafah evacuation after four of its soldiers were killed in a rocket attack claimed by the Hamas armed wing near Rafah on May 5. The evacuation order prompted widespread concern about the potential ramifications for the millions of displaced Palestinians camping there.

The U.S. cautioned PM Benjamin Netanyahu against launching a southern Gaza offensive. Terming the impending invasion as a “red line” for his administration, President Joe Biden said further military action risked more casualties and devastation. Further, in a telephonic conversation with the Israeli PM, the U.S. President again highlighted the necessity of a ceasefire with Hamas to protect Israeli hostages and emphasised it as the best course of action.

Human rights groups and aid agencies also warned that an Israeli incursion could result in dire consequences, potentially leading to a “bloodbath.”

Against the backdrop of an imminent all-out military assault on Rafah, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh announced that the group accepted a ceasefire proposal mediated by Qatar and Egypt. Israel must decide whether it accepts or obstructs a truce, a Hamas official said. The ball is now in Israel’s court, the official told AFP.

Israel, meanwhile, remained defiant and insisted on invading Rafah despite international pressure. Tel Aviv said it would “stand alone if it has to.”

Hours after Hamas’ announcement raised hopes of a pause in firing, Mr. Netanyahu rejected the ceasefire agreement as “far from Israel’s necessary demands,” claiming that its terms had been “softened.”

In a statement, the Israeli PM said the war Cabinet had unanimously decided to continue its operation in Rafah to “apply military pressure on Hamas,” advance the release of hostages and achieve the “other objectives” of the war. It added that a delegation will be nonetheless sent to meet with mediators in Cairo “to exhaust the possibility” of reaching an agreement on “terms acceptable to Israel.”

On Sunday night, the military alert dropped leaflets and sent messages, ordering people to relocate to an expanded humanitarian zone ‘Muwasi,’ a makeshift tent camp. Notably, the Israeli military had issued similar evacuation orders at the onset of the war in 2023, often directing civilians to vacate combat zones before offensive actions and asking them to move south to Rafah.

Soon after, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) launched a “precise counterterrorism operation to eliminate Hamas terrorists and infrastructure” in eastern Rafah. Twenty-three people, including six women and five children, were killed in the series of strikes and bombardment across Rafah, Associated Press reported. 

In a first since its 2005 disengagement from Gaza, the Israeli military returned to the point and seized control of the Rafah border crossing on the Gaza side. Video clips shared online by the IDF showed Israeli flags flying at the checkpoint and atop tanks. “The IDF will continue pursuing Hamas everywhere in Gaza until all the hostages that they’re holding in captivity are back home,” it posted on X.

The View From India | Why truce remains elusive in Gaza

What is the significance of Rafah for Israel? 

The southern city of Rafah has served as a shelter for an estimated 1.4 million Palestinians forced to leave their homes to escape military action after Israel launched a military campaign following Hamas’ October 2023 attacks in Israel in which at least 1,200 people were killed. 

The Rafah crossing has been a lifeline for hundreds of thousands of people caught in the conflict. The border point is the main exit point from Gaza, and the sole crossing not directly under Israeli control. It is the centre for delivery of critical aid, food and humanitarian assistance, facilitating the exit of injured people and foreign passport holders from the strife-torn area. The displaced Palestinians and residents, living in densely packed camps and apartments in Rafah, are entirely dependent on international aid for food and basic supplies arriving in Gaza from the Rafah border crossing.

The area emerged as a focal point in the escalating conflict in recent months amid Israel’s claims that the crossing is used for “terrorist purposes.” Israel contended that Rafah is Hamas’ “last bastion” and shelters thousands of fighters and potentially numerous hostages. The administration claimed that four of the militant group’s 24 battalions are based in the area.

Israeli PM Netanyahu repeatedly deemed Rafah crucial to achieve his government’s “central goal” of dismantling the military and governing capabilities of Hamas. “It is impossible to achieve the goal of the war of eliminating Hamas by leaving four Hamas battalions in Rafah,” Mr. Netanyahu said in a statement in February. 

A week ago, the Israeli PM vowed to enter Rafah and destroy Hamas’ remaining battalions, regardless of whether a deal was reached or not. “The idea that we will stop the war before achieving all of its goals is out of the question. We will enter Rafah and we will eliminate Hamas’ battalions there — with a deal or without a deal, to achieve total victory,” Mr. Netanyahu later said in a meeting with the families of the hostages.

With Israeli troops taking control of the Rafah crossing on Tuesday, Israel now has full authority over the entry and exit of people and aid. The development has sparked global concern over the fate of Gaza’s 2.3 million people, left hungry and homeless due to the war.