Netanyahu says Israel to press on with Rafah assault plan

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he would keep on with the military campaign against Hamas in Gaza, where aid agencies say famine is looming, while ceasefire talks were set to resume. Netanyahu told a cabinet meeting that Israel would push into Rafah, the last relatively safe place in the tiny, crowded Gaza enclave after more than five months of war, despite international pressure for Israel to avoid civilian casualties. Hamas presented a new ceasefire proposal last week including an exchange of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners. Israel's security cabinet is to meet to discuss it before the delegation leaves. Trucks of flour have reached northern Gaza for distribution to areas that have had no aid in four months, Palestinian media reported on Sunday. A convoy of 12 trucks arrived in the north on Saturday carrying supplies to be distributed to the northernmost areas, the media and residents said. On Sunday, Hamas media said 19 aid trucks were heading towards northern Gaza Strip, carrying canned food as well as flour.