Israel will invade Rafah 'with or without' cease-fire, hostage deal, Netanyahu vows | 30 April 2024 | Israel Defense Forces will roll into the refugee-dense southern Gazan city of Rafah regardless of a cease-fire agreement, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Tuesday. Recent advancements in truce talks with Hamas fueled uncertainty over whether Israel would conduct military operations in Rafah as Netanyahu previously pledged - but the prime minister made clear nothing is changing on that front. "We will enter Rafah and we will eliminate the Hamas battalions there -- with or without a deal, in order to achieve the total victory," Netanyahu declared in a statement Tuesday. Rafah, fixated near the border of Egypt, is where thousands of Palestinians have sought refuge from the intense fighting that's mostly taken place in the northern regions of the Gazan Strip.