Israeli forces hammered Rafah in southern Gaza with tanks and artillery on Saturday, hours after US President Joe Biden said Israel was offering a new roadmap towards a full ceasefire. Residents reported tank fire in the Tal al-Sultan neighbourhood in west Rafah, while witnesses in the east and centre of Rafah described intense shelling. \u201cFrom the early hours of the night until this morning, the aerial and artillery bombardment has not stopped for a single moment\u201d, a resident from west Rafah told AFP on condition of anonymity. \u201cThere are a number of occupation (Israeli) snipers in high-rise buildings overseeing all areas of Tal al-Sultan\u2026 making the situation very dangerous,\u201d the resident added. Netanyahu insists on war Shortly after Biden\u2019s announcement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted his country would still pursue the war until it had reached all its aims. He reiterated that position on Saturday, saying that \u201cIsrael\u2019s conditions for ending the war have not changed: the destruction of Hamas\u2019s military and governing capabilities, the freeing of all hostages and ensuring that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel\u201d. Hamas, meanwhile, said it \u201cviews positively\u201d the Israeli plan laid out by Biden. In his first major address outlining a possible end to the nearly eight-month war, the US president said Israel\u2019s three-stage offer would begin with a six-week phase that would see Israeli forces withdraw from all populated areas of Gaza. Israel and the Palestinians would then negotiate for a lasting ceasefire \u2014 but the truce would continue so long as talks are ongoing, Biden said. But Netanyahu took issue with Biden\u2019s presentation of what was on the table, insisting on Friday the transition from one stage to the next was \u201cconditional\u201d and crafted to allow Israel to maintain its war aims. Meanwhile, a meeting between US, Egyptian and Israeli officials is scheduled to take place on Sunday in Cairo to discuss the reopening of Gaza\u2019s Rafah crossing, a high-level source told Egypt\u2019s state-linked Al Qahera TV.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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