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- 鈥淓ven if (Israel) enters and invades Rafah, it will not achieve what it wants,鈥� Ghazi Hamad said
- 鈥淭his will undoubtedly threaten the negotiations because it is clear from this declared position that Israel is interested in continuing the war鈥�
GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories: A senior Hamas official told AFP on Thursday that Israel would fail to meet its stated goals of defeating the Palestinian militant group and freeing hostages by invading the southern Gaza city Rafah.
鈥淓ven if (Israel) enters and invades Rafah, it will not achieve what it wants,鈥� Ghazi Hamad said in an interview over the phone from Qatar, where a number of senior figures from Hamas鈥檚 political bureau are based.
Hamad said Israel had 鈥渟pent nearly seven months in Gaza and invaded all areas and destroyed a lot, but so far has not been able to achieve anything of its main goals, whether eliminating Hamas or returning the captives.鈥�
Israel has vowed to move on with the planned military operation in Rafah, despite international outcry and concern for about 1.5 million Palestinians sheltering in the city.
There are fears of huge civilian casualties and countries including Israel鈥檚 top ally and weapons supplier the United States have warned Israel against sending troops into Rafah.
鈥淲e have spoken with all parties involved in the conflict... about the seriousness of invading Rafah and that Israel is heading toward committing additional massacres and additional genocide,鈥� Hamad said.
鈥淭his will undoubtedly threaten the negotiations because it is clear from this declared position that Israel is interested in continuing the war and aggression and has no intention of continuing negotiations and reaching an agreement,鈥� he said.
Qatar, the United States and Egypt, have been mediating talks to secure a truce and the release of hostages, but those have stalled for days.
An Egyptian delegation is however set to travel to Israel on Friday to kickstart a new round of talks, Israeli media reported citing unnamed officials.
Israeli government spokesman David Mencer said Israel鈥檚 war cabinet was meeting Thursday 鈥渢o discuss how to destroy the last battalions of Hamas.鈥�
On Wednesday, Mencer said that since Israel began its ground invasion of Gaza on October 27, the army has destroyed 鈥渁t least 18 or 19 of Hamas鈥檚 24 battalions.鈥�
Officials say the remaining battalions are in Rafah 鈥� the main target of the impending assault.
Most Gazans taking refuge in Rafah are sheltering in makeshift camps, and even before the start of the expected ground invasion, the city near the Egyptian border has been suffering regular Israeli bombings.
Hamad argued the planned invasion was exposing contradictions in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu鈥檚 stance on Gaza.
鈥淣etanyahu is stumbling because, on the one hand, he wants to return the captives to their families, as he says, but at the same time, he puts them in great danger, as his army deliberately killed many hostages.鈥�
Israel鈥檚 army has admitted to mistakenly killing some hostages in Gaza.
Hamad accused Netanyahu of 鈥渕anipulating and procrastinating鈥� in a bid to 鈥渄eceive the Israeli public that there are negotiations and deceive the international community as well that there are negotiations.鈥�
He said the Israeli prime minister was 鈥渢rying to twist the truth鈥� and claim that 鈥淗amas is the obstacle in these negotiations.鈥�
Hamad said Qatar and Egypt were 鈥渕aking great efforts to reach an agreement,鈥� but argued 鈥渢he Israeli side unfortunately deals with the matter foolishly and is very confused.鈥�
Hamad also told AFP that Hamas, which took power in Gaza in 2007, was already working on plans for the territory after the war.
He said the group was 鈥渨orking on the post-war phase to ensure that there is a great effort to rebuild the Gaza Strip and provide the necessities for a decent life.鈥�
Palestinian militants took around 250 hostages to Gaza during Hamas鈥檚 October 7 attack that triggered the war.
Israeli officials say 129 hostages are still held in Gaza, including 34 the military says are dead.
The attack on southern Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,170 people, Israelis and foreigners, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Israel鈥檚 retaliatory offensive against Hamas in Gaza has killed 34,305 people, most of them women and children, according to the territory鈥檚 health ministry.