After Hamas responded to the deal, Smotrich demands to invade Rafah and take control of the Gaza Strip

After Hamas responded to the deal, Smotrich demands to invade Rafah and take control of the Gaza Strip

After the Israeli Prime Minister's Office announced that the Hamas movement's response to the mediators' proposals regarding reaching a prisoner exchange deal was negative, the Israeli Finance Minister called for "invading Rafah and imposing control over the entire Gaza Strip."

On Sunday, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for “invading Rafah and imposing control over the entire Gaza Strip,” despite international warnings against carrying out a military operation in the city crowded with thousands of displaced people.

This came in a post by Smotrich on the X platform, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced that the Hamas movement’s response to the mediators’ proposals regarding reaching a prisoner exchange deal was “negative.”

Smotrits, head of the Religious Zionism Party, said: “Abandoning the Israeli red lines and pursuing Hamas in order to reach an agreement will only eliminate the opportunity to return everyone (the detainees) to their homes.”

He added: "It is time to learn lessons, change direction, and head to Rafah now, and restore full Israeli control over the entire Gaza Strip."

Regional and international warnings are escalating regarding the Israeli bombing of the city of Rafah with preparations to invade it by land, and the danger this poses to hundreds of thousands of displaced people who have taken refuge there as the last refuge in the far south of the Strip.

In turn, Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid confirmed in a post on X that Tel Aviv is “obligated to work to return 133 kidnapped persons to their homes as quickly as possible.”

On Sunday morning, Netanyahu's office considered that Hamas responded "negatively" to the outlines provided to it by the mediators regarding the ceasefire proposal with Israel, which it received last Monday.

The office said in a statement: “More than a week after the meeting in Cairo, Hamas responded negatively to the broad outlines presented to it by the mediators.”

He added, "The rejection of the three mediators' proposal, which included a very large amount of flexibility on the part of Israel (according to his claim), proves that (Hamas leader in Gaza Yahya) Sinwar does not want a humanitarian deal and the return of the kidnapped (Israelis) and continues to exploit the tension with Iran and seek unification." squares, and creating a comprehensive escalation in the region.”

He continued: "Israel will continue with full force to achieve the goals of the war against Hamas, and will make every effort to return the 133 kidnapped people from Gaza as soon as possible."

The statement from Netanyahu's office came at a time when protests are escalating in Israel demanding a prisoner exchange agreement and a ceasefire in Gaza. There was no immediate comment from Hamas regarding the statement from Netanyahu’s office, but it said on Saturday that it had delivered its response to Egypt and Qatar regarding the ceasefire proposal with Israel.

Hamas has repeatedly declared its commitment to ending the war, the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip, the return of the displaced to their areas, and the freedom to bring in humanitarian and relief aid, within a prisoner exchange agreement.

For months, Egypt, Qatar, and the United States have been leading indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas with the aim of reaching a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip and an exchange of prisoners and detainees between the two parties.