Benjamin Netanyahu News

By Colleen Howe

southernmost city of Rafah could be “delayed somewhat" if a deal is reached for a weekslong cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. He further claimed that total victory in the territory would come within weeks once the offensive begins in Rafah as four of the six remaining Hamas battalions are concentrated there. Thus, Israel is set to undertake plans to expand its offensive against the Hamas militant group to Rafah on the Gaza-Egypt border even as humanitarian groups have warned of a catastrophe.

Israeli military offensive in the southernmost city of Rafah could be «delayed somewhat» if a deal for a weekslong cease-fire between Israel and Hamas is reached, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday, but claimed that total victory in Gaza is «weeks away» once the offensive begins. Netanyahu confirmed to CBS that a deal is in the works, with no details. Israeli media reported that mediators were making progress on an agreement for a cease-fire and release of dozens of hostages held in Gaza as well as Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Several Israeli media outlets, citing unnamed officials, said the War Cabinet tacitly approved it. Talks resumed on Sunday in Qatar at the specialist level, Egypt's state-run Al Qahera TV reported, citing an Egyptian official as saying further discussions would follow in Cairo with the aim of achieving the cease-fire and release. Meanwhile, Israel is developing plans for expanding its offensive against the Hamas militant group to Rafah on the Gaza-Egypt border, where more than half the besieged territory's population of 2.3 million have sought refuge.

By Dan Williams and Nidal al-Mughrabi

Antony Blinken, while speaking at a news conference during a trip to Buenos Aires, said, “They're also inconsistent with international law. Our administration maintains a firm opposition to settlement expansion, and in our judgment this only weakens, doesn't strengthen, Israel's security." The comments reversed the Trump administration's position that settlements did not violate international law. Israel on Thursday said that it plans to build more than 3,300 new homes in settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday reaffirmed Washington's opposition to any reoccupation of the Gaza Strip by Israel as well as any reduction of the Palestinian territory's size. Blinken's remarks were in response to a plan for post-war Gaza put forward by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in which his country's army would have «indefinite freedom» to operate throughout the Gaza Strip once Hamas is defeated.

Reuters, Israel aims to maintain security control over all land west of Jordan. This includes the occupied West Bank and Gaza - the territories where the Palestinians hope to establish an independent state. Besides, Netanyahu's plan also suggested way to replace Hamas rule in Gaza while maintaining public order.

Oil prices fell on Friday after a U.S. Fed official said interest rate cuts should be delayed at least two more months. Brent crude futures were down 25 cents, or 0.3%, at $83.42 a barrel at 0212 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were 25 cents, or 0.3%, lower at $78.36.

Joe Biden on Friday said that the majority of ‘overwhelming’ Palestinians are not Hamas and further alleged that they're also suffering as a result of Hamas' terrorism. In a post on X, Biden wrote, “I won't mince words.

Gaza overnight, half of them women and children, health officials said Thursday. European foreign ministers and U.N. agencies called for a cease-fire, with alarm rising over the worsening humanitarian crisis and potential starvation in the territory. Tensions were also rising in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where three Palestinian gunmen on Thursday opened fire on morning traffic at a highway checkpoint, killing one person and wounding five others, Israeli police said.

An Israeli sabotage attack on an Iranian natural gas pipeline has caused the multiple explosions last week

Lula da Silva's comparison of Israel's military campaign in Gaza to the Holocaust has unleashed a diplomatic firestorm, with Brazil recalling its ambassador Monday and Israel declaring Lula «persona non grata.» The row erupted the day before when Lula said the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip «isn't a war, it's a genocide,» and compared it to «when Hitler decided to kill the Jews.»

Israel-Hamas war: Benny Gantz, a minister of Israel's war cabinet has warned Hamas that they must return all the hostages by March 10 or Israeli forces will launch a ground invasion in Rafah. The warning came as the 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza are seeking refugee in Rafah, a small city close to the Egypt border. The international agencies have raised concerns that any attack on Rafah will lead to a “massacre." The death toll in Israeli strikes on Gaza has crossed 28,000 and the peace proposals moved by Egypt, Qatar, and the United States are not creating much movement on the ground.

Israel will launch its long-threatened offensive against Rafah next month if Hamas has not freed the remaining hostages held in Gaza by the start of Ramadan, Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz said. «The world must know, and Hamas leaders must know — if by Ramadan our hostages are not home, the fighting will continue everywhere, including the Rafah area,» Gantz, a retired military chief of staff, told a conference of American Jewish leaders in Jerusalem Sunday. Ramadan, the Muslim holy month, is expected to begin on March 10.

Israel for carrying out genocide in Gaza and voiced support for South Africa's case against Israel at the UN's International Court of Justice. However, it was the first time he directly compared Israel's actions to the Holocaust. As per Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the remark “crossed a red line".

veto. Algeria, the Arab representative on the council, put the draft resolution in a final form that can be voted on. Council diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly, said the vote will take place Tuesday morning. In addition to a ceasefire, the final Algerian draft, obtained by The Associated Press, reiterates council demands that Israel and Hamas “scrupulously comply” with international law especially the protection

Israeli cabinet unanimously approved a declaration strongly opposing any plan for Palestinian statehood, the Times of Israel reported. This comes in the wake of reports that the US and several Arab partners were preparing a detailed plan for a comprehensive peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians that includes a «firm timeline» for a Palestinian state.

Hamas, and envisions a wider resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called Hamas' demands “delusional" and rejected US and international calls for a pathway to Palestinian statehood.

Israel accused Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of trivialising the Holocaust and causing offence to the Jewish people on Sunday after he likened the Israeli war against Hamas militants in Gaza to the Nazi genocide during World War Two. «What is happening in the Gaza Strip with the Palestinian people has no parallel in other historical moments. In fact, it did exist when Hitler decided to kill the Jews,» Lula told reporters during the 37th African Union Summit in Addis Ababa.

Benjamin Netanyahu responded on February 17 to rising appeals from world leaders to avoid a ground operation in Rafah, remarking that doing so would mean «losing the war against Hamas,» as reported by The Times of Israel. «Those who want to prevent us from operating in Rafah are essentially telling us: 'Lose the war.' I won't let that happen,» he vowed at an evening press conference in Jerusalem. «We won't capitulate to any pressure,» he said.

Israel has sent negotiators for truce talks in Cairo as requested by US President Joe Biden but they did not go back for further talks because Hamas' demands were "delusional," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday. Netanyahu also said Israel would not give in to «international dictates» regarding a statehood agreement with the Palestinians, which he said could only be reached through direct negotiations without preconditions.