Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected Hamas' latest offer for a truce on Wednesday. Netanyahu refers to the truce deal as "delusional," and hints the plan will bring about another round of massacre. Netanyahu says completely dismantling Hamas is the only way to bring a stop to Israel's war on Gaza.
According to a report from Al Jazeera on Wednesday, Hamas’ latest plan suggested a three-stage truce process that involves hostages and prisoners released on both sides. Each stage would last for 45 days, totaling a 135-day truce.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant declared on Thursday that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will expand their onslaught on Rafah, the last-standing city in the Gaza Strip, despite previously declaring the city as a “safe zone.” Reports of violence from Israeli settlers on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank have also risen since last October. Since October 7, 2023, the Israeli army has killed at least 27,585 Palestinians and wounded 66,978 in Gaza, mostly civilians.
Since last October, multiple Israeli officials including member of the Knesset Ariel Kallner and Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter referenced the continuing ground invasion in Gaza as the second Nakba. The Nakba, in Arabic meaning “catastrophe,” refers to the mass displacement and dispossession of Palestinians during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.