Netanyahu vows his troops will enter Rafah

Israeli ground forces will execute the planned Rafah operation even if truce deal is reached with Hamas, says PM

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Tuesday to launch a ground offensive on the Gaza Strip's farsouthern city of Rafah "with or without" a truce deal being agreed with Hamas.

The hawkish premier issued the warning despite strong concerns raised by top ally Washington and hours before US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was set to arrive in Israel on his latest Middle East crisis tour.

Netanyahu, who has vowed to destroy Hamas over its October 7 attack, promised "total victory" and said stopping the war "before achieving all of its goals is out of the question".

"We will enter Rafah and we will eliminate the Hamas battalions there with or without a deal," he told families of some of the hostages still being held in Gaza, his office said.

Netanyahu's comments came as Hamas was weighing the latest plan for a truce proposed in Cairo talks with US, Egyptian and Qatari mediators that had raised cautious hopes for an end to the fighting after nearly seven months.

The Palestinian militant group said it was considering a plan for a 40-day ceasefire and the exchange of scores of hostages for larger numbers of Palestinian prisoners.