Benjamin Netanyahu’s dilemma: save the hostages or his government

In one of the biggest gambles of his career, Israel’s premier sent troops into Rafah to raise pressure on Hamas and buy time, putting back in play the fate of the 132 hostages still held by Hamas.

Neri Zilber, Mehul Srivastava and Andrew England

May 8, 2024 – 9.28am

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Benjamin Netanyahu waited for months to send troops into Rafah, the southern tip of the Gaza Strip where more than 1 million Palestinians have sought refuge from fighting.

When the order finally came on Monday (Tuesday AEST), it was within hours of Hamas finally signalling that it had accepted the outlines of a hostage-for-prisoner ceasefire proposal drawn up with mediators.

Financial Times