An Israeli official said Saturday amid reports in Arab media that Hamas has agreed to the hostage deal outline proposed by Egypt that “the IDF will enter Rafah, whether there’ll be a pause in the fighting or not.” This comes after additional reports according to whom the U.S. “gave guarantees to end the war and the IDF’s withdrawal from Gaza.”
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"Israel will in no way agree to the end of the war as part of a deal to release our hostages," the official added in a statement. "As decided by the government, the IDF will enter Rafah and eliminate the remaining Hamas battalions there, whether or not there will be a temporary pause for the release of our hostages."
This statement drew sharp criticism from Minister Benny Gantz: "An official response to the proposed deal hasn’t been received yet. When it’s received, the War Cabinet will convene and deliberate on it. Until then, I suggest the ‘officials’ and all decision-makers to wait for official updates, to keep a cool head, and not to succumb to hysteria for the sake of political considerations."
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