Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday vowed to attack Rafah in the southern part of Gaza Strip.
Netanyahu’s threat comes amid reports of a possible ceasefire deal with Hamas.
He said the Israeli army would enter Rafah to destroy Hamas’ battalions “with or without a deal”.
The Prime Minister spoke during a meeting with families of Israeli soldiers and was contained in a statement issued by his office.
Netanyahu said the evacuation of civilians from Rafah has begun.
He said: “The idea that we will stop the war before achieving all its objectives is out of the question.
“We have begun the evacuation of the population in Rafah. We will be there soon.”
Rafah houses about 1.4 million displaced Palestinians and is the last remaining area in the Gaza Strip Israel is yet to invade.
Netanyahu’s statements came amid reports of a new cease-fire proposal being discussed by Hamas and Israel to end the conflict in the Gaza Strip.
The new proposal includes Israel’s willingness to discuss the “restoration of sustainable calm” in Gaza after an initial release of hostages on humanitarian grounds, two Israeli officials told news website Axios.
Hamas is expected to deliver its response to the truce proposal later this week.
Israel has waged an unrelenting offensive on the Palestinian enclave since a cross-border attack by Hamas last Oct. 7 which killed some 1,200 people.
More than 34,500 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and thousands of others injured amid mass destruction and severe shortages of necessities.
More than six months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins, pushing 85% of the enclave’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine, according to the UN.
