Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that his War Cabinet approved continuing an operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah in order to pressure Hamas to release Israeli hostages and achieve the country's other war goals.
Video: Families of the hostages near the Israeli Defense Ministry Headquarters in Tel Aviv / Credit: Reuters
"The war cabinet unanimously decided that Israel continue the operation in Rafah to exert military pressure on Hamas in order to advance the release of our hostages and the other goals of the war," Netanyahu's office said in a statement.
"In parallel, even though the Hamas proposal is far from Israel's necessary demands, Israel will send a working delegation to the mediators in order to exhaust the possibility of reaching an agreement under conditions acceptable to Israel," it said. The White House said on Monday it was reviewing a response by Hamas to a ceasefire and hostage release deal, and continued to press Israel not to launch a large-scale military offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
CIA Director Williams Burns was in the region having discussions on the Hamas response, White House spokesperson John Kirby told reporters. He declined to provide any details of what had been agreed, saying he did not want to jeopardize any deal. "We want to get these hostages out, we want to get a ceasefire in place for six weeks, we want to increase humanitarian assistance," Kirby said, adding that reaching an agreement would be the "absolute best outcome."
