September 7, 2024
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a surprise visit to troops in southern Gaza on Thursday, his office said, just days before he was set to give a speech to the U.S. Congress.
The visit came hours after Israel’s parliament overwhelmingly passed a resolution rejecting the establishment of a Palestinian state. The vote, in an overnight session that lasted into Thursday morning, was largely symbolic and meant to send a message ahead of Netanyahu’s trip to the United States.
Netanyahu's office announced his visit to Rafah once the prime minister had exited the war-torn Palestinian territory, and he later released a statement emphasizing that “only the military pressure helps us advance the hostage deal.”
Israeli forces invaded Rafah in early May, forcing most of the 2 million Palestinians sheltering there to flee. Very few civilians now remain in Rafah, once a crucial entry point for humanitarian aid.
Israeli leaders have signaled the Rafah operation is close to finished — a step that is expected to lead to a new, lower-intensity phase of the war and could possibly improve conditions for a cease-fire. Israel has previously said Rafah was Hamas’ last major stronghold in Gaza.
In recent weeks, Israel has stepped up strikes in central Gaza. Israel’s military said it targeted a senior commander from the militant Palestinian group Islamic Jihad’s naval forces in Gaza City, and another Islamic Jihad commander responsible for launches in the city of Shijaiyah.
Israel also said it killed a senior commander affiliated with Hamas and other militant groups in Lebanon. In a statement, Sunni al-Jamaa al-Islamiya, or the Islamic Group, identified him as Mohammad Hamed Jabbara and said he was killed in a strike in the western Bekaa area in Lebanon not far from the Syrian border. The Israeli military described Jabbara as a Hamas operative in Lebanon who helped coordinate Islamic Group attacks targeting northern Israel.
The war in Gaza was sparked by Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel which killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and militants took about 250 hostage. About 120 remain in captivity, with about a third of them believed to be dead, according to Israeli authorities.
