Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Monday his intention to proceed with a long-awaited and contentious military operation in the Gaza Strip city of Rafah.
Meanwhile, Hamas purportedly stated that it can only verify the whereabouts of fewer than 40 female, elderly, and infirm captives.
The New York Post reports that Netanyahu, who has come under increasing domestic criticism over his handling of the six-month-old war against the terror group, told Israelis that “complete victory” over the jihadists “requires entry into Rafah and the elimination of the terrorist battalions there.”
“It will happen, there is a date,” the 74-year-old added without giving further specifics in a video message posted on his X handle.
READ ALSO: U.S. Treasury Secretary warns China against aiding Russia’s war efforts
The report disclosed that truce talks involving Israeli and Hamas officials in Cairo were ongoing after CIA Director Bill Burns proposed over the weekend that Hamas submit a list of 40 Israeli hostages who are alive and could be released on humanitarian grounds in exchange for a six-week cease-fire.
Israel’s Channel 12 news reported on Monday that Hamas was trying to negotiate the release of fewer hostages on the grounds it had “no ability to release 40” abductees who fit the initial request by Israeli negotiators.
