Minister Austin expressed his condolences to the Israeli army soldiers who were killed and wounded in a rocket and mortar attack launched by Hamas from Rafah at the Kerem Shalom crossing.
Austin reiterated his commitment to the unconditional return of all hostages and stressed the need for any potential Israeli military operation in Rafah to include a credible plan to evacuate Palestinian civilians and maintain the flow of humanitarian aid.
Gallant had previously said that the Hamas movement had shown indications that it was not serious about reaching a truce, adding that if that were the case, Israel would launch military operations in Rafah and other areas of the Gaza Strip “in the very near future.”
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