Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that the Israeli military will launch a ground offensive in Rafah "with or without" a truce with Hamas in Gaza.
"The idea that we will halt the war before achieving all of its goals is out of the question. We will enter Rafah and we will eliminate the Hamas battalions there with or without a deal, in order to achieve the total victory," Netanyahu told representatives of hostages' families, according to a statement issued by his office.
Hamas on Tuesday said it was studying Israel's offer of a 40-day truce in the war on the Gaza Strip in exchange for the release of hostages held since the Palestinian group's October 7 attack.
Returning to Qatar after the latest talks in Cairo, the Hamas delegation said it would "discuss the ideas and the proposal... we are keen to respond as quickly as possible," a Hamas source told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Egyptian sources told Al-Qahera News that the Hamas delegation would "return with a written response".
Relentless Israeli bombardment has devastated the Gaza Strip, flattening much of the territory and bringing its people to the brink of famine, while threatening to unfurl into a wider regional conflict. More than 34,000 people have been killed in the indiscriminate bombardment, mostly women and children.