March 11, 2024 Israel-Hamas war

An Israeli offensive into Rafah is not imminent, multiple Israeli officials said Monday.

The Israeli military has yet to build up the forces needed to proceed with a Rafah offensive, and it has not finalized plans for a civilian evacuation of the city, the officials said.

While the necessary force build-up could be enacted in short order, a major civilian evacuation is expected to take at least two weeks, the officials said.

And the Israeli cabinet has not yet signed off on plans submitted by the Israel Defense Forces for an evacuation and incursion, officials on both the military and political sides said.

Israeli officials have repeatedly assured US officials that they would carry out an evacuation of civilians before launching an offensive into what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has described as Hamas’s “last bastion.”

Israeli officials cautioned that a Rafah offensive during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan has not been ruled out.

More than a million internally displaced Palestinians are sheltering in Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza, according to international aid agencies. 

Ramadan began on Sunday night throughout the Middle East and will last for four weeks.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has called for a longer-lasting ceasefire in the Gaza war "ideally during Ramadan.” 

"The US president, I, and many others are strongly committed to this"

Scholz said he is “certain that the vast majority of Israelis and Palestinians want peace.” 

Ceasefire talks are stalled: Hamas remains open to mediated talks with Israel, the militant group's political leader said, after the two sides failed to reach a truce agreement and hostage release deal before Ramadan. But Ismail Haniyeh insisted that a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and the withdrawal of all Israeli forces was the only way forward to an agreement. A member of Hamas' political bureau told CNN there were "no dates yet" for Hamas negotiators to return to Cairo to resume talks.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday said he would push ahead with a military offensive in Rafah, where 1.5 million displaced Palestinians are sheltering, despite US President Joe Biden's warning that doing so would be a "red line."

The Israeli leader's remarks come as the Islamic holy month of Ramadan begins and ceasefire talks stall. Israeli officials had previously warned that if hostages held in Gaza weren’t home by the start of Ramadan, they would launch a military offensive into Rafah.

Netanyahu said the operation in the southern city would not last more than two months, but did not provide specifics on the timeline. He also denied Biden's claim that he is "hurting more than helping" Israel in failing to limit civilian casualties in Gaza.

The Biden administration is not anticipating that Israeli forces will imminently expand their military operations into Rafah, two US officials told CNN.

The United Nations aid chief has warned that a ground invasion into Rafah could lead to "a slaughter."

Here's what else you need to know:

The humanitarian crisis in Gaza is "front of mind" this Ramadan, US President Joe Biden said in a statement Sunday marking the start of the Islamic holy month.

In his statement, Biden pledged that the United States would "continue to lead international efforts to get more humanitarian assistance into Gaza" and is "working non-stop to establish an immediate and sustained ceasefire for at least six weeks as part of a deal that releases hostages." 

Remember: A Hamas delegation left Cairo on March 7 following days of talks without an obvious breakthrough. Israel has warned that if hostages held in Gaza aren’t home by Ramadan they will launch a military offensive into Rafah, where more than a million displaced people are sheltering. However, the Biden administration is not anticipating that Israeli forces will imminently expand their military operations into the southern Gaza city, two US officials told CNN.

The Biden administration is not anticipating that Israeli forces will imminently expand their military operations into Rafah, two US officials told CNN, with the holy month of Ramadan set to begin Monday for most Muslims.

Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz, who visited Washington last week, has warned in recent weeks that if a temporary ceasefire and hostage release deal was not struck by Ramadan, the Israeli military would launch the next phase of its war against Hamas with a major incursion into Rafah in southern Gaza.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that regardless of a deal, he plans to send the military into Rafah.

Netanyahu was referencing comments made by President Joe Biden in a Saturday MSNBC interview in which he said an operation into Rafah “is a red line.”

“It cannot have 30,000 more Palestinians dead,” Biden said.

Netanyahu said Sunday in an interview with Politico and German media outlet Bild that the operation would not last more than two months but did not provide specifics on the timeline.

“Once we begin the intense action of eradicating the Hamas terrorist battalions in Rafah, it’s a matter of weeks, if not months. That means it’s not going to take more than two months, maybe six weeks, maybe four,” he said.

Read more about the situation in Rafah.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended his policies in Gaza after US President Joe Biden said the Israeli leader is "hurting Israel more than helping."

Biden made his remarks during an interview with MSNBC that aired Saturday, when he said Netanyahu "must pay more attention to the innocent lives being lost as a consequence of the actions taken" in Gaza.

Netanyahu said he intends to move forward with an invasion of the southern Gaza city of Rafah, despite Biden warning that doing so would be a “red line.”

Netanyahu said the operation would not last more than two months, but did not provide specifics on the timeline.

There are “no dates yet” for Hamas negotiators to return to Cairo to resume talks over reaching a ceasefire in exchange for hostage releases, a member of the Hamas political bureau told CNN on Sunday. 

“There is nothing new,” Hossam Badran told CNN, saying that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refuses to respond to fair Palestinian demands regarding Gaza’s basic needs.

He listed “stopping the killing, withdrawal, providing relief and the return of the displaced people without conditions” as factors to be considered.

A Hamas delegation left Cairo on March 7 following days of talks without an obvious breakthrough.

Negotiators had hoped to have a draft agreement this week after the days of meetings in Cairo, “but it won’t happen,” said one diplomat familiar with the discussions who described the last few days of talks as “very hectic.”

Egypt state-run Al Qahera news, citing a senior source, said the delegation had left to consult on the proposals, adding negotiations would resume this week.

Israel has warned that if the Israeli hostages being held in Gaza aren’t home by Ramadan they will launch a military offensive into Rafah in southern Gaza where around 1.5 million Palestinians are trying to seek safety from the fighting.

A road being built by the Israeli military splitting Gaza in two has reached the Mediterranean coast, a CNN analysis of satellite imagery shows.

It’s part of a security plan to control the territory for months and possibly years to come, Israeli officials have said.

A satellite image from March 6 reveals that the east-west road, which has been under construction for weeks, now stretches from the Gaza-Israeli border area across the entire roughly 6.5-kilometer-wide (about 4-mile-wide) strip, dividing northern Gaza, including Gaza City, from the south of the enclave. About 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) includes an existing road, while the rest is new, according to CNN’s analysis.

When asked about the route’s completion, the IDF said the road existed before the war and was being “renovated,” due to armored vehicles “damaging it.” It added that there was: “No beginning and ending.”

Read the full story.

US President Joe Biden has said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is "hurting more than helping" Israel in failing to limit civilian casualties in Gaza.

Biden has for months warned that Israel risks losing international support over mounting civilian casualties in Gaza, where the death toll has passed 31,000.

And he said a potential Israeli invasion of the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1.5 million Palestinians are sheltering, is “a red line.”

However, he said he would not cut off weapons like the Iron Dome missile interceptors that protect Israel from rocket attacks in the region.