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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Peter Beaumont

Netanyahu uses hostage rescue to justify Rafah strikes as his support dwindles

The rubble of a building in Rafah
The building where two Israeli hostages were believed to have been held before being rescued by the IDF in Rafah, where more than 1.3 million people are sheltering from the war. Photograph: APAImages/REX/Shutterstock

Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is deploying the successful rescue of two Israeli hostages to justify continued military pressure on Rafah, even as Israel has come under intense international pressure not to launch a ground offensive against the southern Gaza city.

In the immediate aftermath of the rescue, which took place in the early hours of Monday, Netanyahu said it demonstrated the need for continuing pressure on Hamas in order to secure the release of the remaining hostages.

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