Netanyahu sets date for Rafah operation

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu set a date for an IDF operation in Rafah to destroy the remaining Hamas battalions. “This victory requires entering Rafah and eliminating the terrorist battalions there. This will happen; there is a date,” Netanyahu said in a brief video message he issued to the public on Monday night. He spoke after the IDF removed Brigade 98 from Gaza, a move believed to be necessary so the troops could rest and regroup in advance of any further military activity in the enclave. Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi are expected to travel to Washington to meet with officials from the Biden administration. The United States has been concerned that a Rafah operation is not possible given that more than 1.3 million Palestinian civilians are in the area, having fled there from the north.