Israeli soldiers planned to be part of Rafah invasion being discharged
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Israeli media says that the reserve soldiers are being discharged despite the occupation entity still waiting for the Resistance's response to the latest exchange proposal.
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Israeli occupation soldiers walking in an unknown residential area in Gaza after destroying it with intense bombing in January 2024 (AFP)
Amid discussions about preparations for an invasion of Rafah, and before Hamas responded to the Egyptian proposal, it was decided to discharge reserve soldiers who were supposed to participate in the attack on the southern Gazan region, said an Israeli source quoted by Yedioth Ahronoth on Thursday.
The outlet also cited a report by The Wall Street Journal which pointed out that, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that the occupation army would go into Rafah, whether an exchange deal was reached or not, Hamas threatened to halt all negotiations if the attack begins.
Read more: 'Israel' failed to achieve any of its goals in the Gaza Strip: NYT
Netanyahu told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday that any agreement that includes "Israel" ending the war on Gaza will be rejected. However, the Israeli newspaper said that the occupation is open to discussing a prolonged ceasefire.
Al Mayadeen obtains copy of mediated Palestinian-Israeli deal
Al Mayadeen published in a report the details of the latest proposal, specifically related to the prisoner exchange deal and related clauses.
The framework of the three-phase agreement aims to achieve the release of all Israeli military and non-military captives, dead or alive, held in Gaza, and it would not only include captives taken on October 7 but all previous ones as well.
Primarily, the deal's objective is to achieve calm in the region and work on reaching a ceasefire, the document said.
Read more: Exclusive: Hamas says Rafah brigades have a surprise in store
Meanwhile, Netanyahu continues to insist on "absolute victory" in Gaza, which has been criticized by top Israeli officials and experts as being out of reach, even unachievable.
Israel Ziv, the former head of operations in the General Staff of the Israeli occupation army, said on Tuesday that an invasion of Rafah serves "no strategic advantage," warning that "Israel has no international credit" to carry out such an attack on the city bordering Egypt, sheltering almost 1.3 million, most of whom are Palestinians forcibly displaced by the Israeli war.
"If there are 100 civilian casualties, Israel will be judged legally, as if they were 1,000, or even 100,000, in terms of severity," Ziv said.
