Israeli analysts say the invasion of Rafah isunlikely to happen

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with the media during Ramadan: Implications for a possible israel-Hamas-Israel operation

According to Israeli leaders, an invasion of the southern Gaza city of Rafah is necessary to eliminate Hamas. It is a strategy fraught with complexity and is generating criticism over the potentially catastrophic impact on the more than one million Gazans who are sheltered there.

The Biden administration has also raised concern over an assault coinciding with the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, according to a report in Israeli media. An attack during Ramadan — which is expected to start March 10, though the timing depends on the sighting of the moon over Mecca — could be viewed as particularly provocativeto Muslims in the region and beyond.

“The operation in Rafah will happen,” Avi Dichter, a minister from Mr. Netanyahu’s conservative Likud party, told Israel’s public broadcaster, Kan, on Sunday. He said that it would begin and end the same way in other places.

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President Biden spoke with Netanyahu to inform him that a military operation in the south of Gaza should not proceed without a plan to ensure the safety and support for the more than.

In a call with reporters, a senior administration official said there are 1.3 million people in Rafah now who have dire humanitarian needs and nowhere to go. They sought refuge there after they fled fighting in other parts of Gaza.

The official said that Israeli officials had told them U.S. counterparts that “they wouldn’t contemplate an operation [in Rafah] without being able to get civilians out of there.”

The senior administration official said the majority of the 45-minute call between Biden and Netanyahu was spent discussing the need to keep pushing toward a potential hostage deal that would see Hamas release the remaining hostages in exchange for a sustained pause in fighting.

A cessation of hostilities would be needed in order to release Israelis held captive by Hamas, if a proposal worked out by Israel, Egypt, Qatar, and the US is to be accepted.

The status of the Framework for the Intergovernmental Review of Human Rights and Freedoms in the Region of the Gaddaf-Security

The official said that while there is a framework proposal “pretty much … now in place … there’s certainly gaps that need to be closed. Some of them are significant. The official said there had been “real progress” over the last few weeks.

The remarks come days after Netanyahu rejected a cease-fire plan delivered by Hamas to end the war in Gaza, calling it “delusional” because it would have left Hamas in power of the Gaza Strip at the end of the phased truce.