Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that "the evacuation of civilians from Rafah has already begun," noting that the chances of concluding a prisoner exchange deal with Hamas under a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip are "very slim."

This came during a meeting held by Netanyahu with representatives of the so-called “Hagvora Forum,” which consists of families of Israeli soldiers killed in the war on the Gaza Strip.

During which Netanyahu stressed, "We will enter Rafah and eliminate the Hamas brigades, with or without an agreement." According to him.

A statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office quoted Netanyahu as saying: "The idea that we will stop the war before achieving all its goals is out of the question. We will enter Rafah and eliminate all Hamas brigades there - with or without an agreement, to achieve absolute victory."

According to Israeli media, Netanyahu said during the meeting, which also witnessed the participation of families of Israeli prisoners in the Gaza Strip, that "the process of evacuating the population in Rafah has already begun in preparation for the military operation that will be carried out soon."

Netanyahu claimed that “all government ministers support” the invasion of Rafah; Netanyahu described the chance of reaching a prisoner exchange agreement with Hamas as “very slim,” and accused the movement of “continuing to adhere to its positions,” referring to the movement’s police to end the war.

Netanyahu stressed that the goals of the war on Gaza “have not changed,” and said that they are “to eliminate the Hamas movement, including its military and authoritarian capabilities, to return the Israeli hostages held in Gaza, and to remove any future threat that the Strip may pose.”

Netanyahu added: "There are efforts to reach an agreement. We have worked so far to release half of the kidnapped people, and it is not that we do not care. But it is clear that we are in a very big problem. The idea of stopping the war is unthinkable without dissolving these four brigades."

He continued, "Hamas insists on one thing: the end of the war, and it will never get that. I am not willing to give it that."

Netanyahu referred to the previous deal, hinting that Israel would resume its war on Gaza after implementing any possible deal with the aim of releasing Israeli prisoners in Gaza. He said: “It was said that we would not return to war if we stopped it for a while, but we returned.”

Shortly after the meeting, Netanyahu held a session with the Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, against the backdrop of far-right threats to topple the government if Netanyahu agreed to the deal proposal and canceled the Rafah invasion. The meeting continued for no more than 20 minutes.

This comes as Israeli political and security officials agreed, on Tuesday, that the coming hours will be “decisive” for the military operation scheduled in Rafah and the efforts of the mediators to reach a prisoner exchange deal and a temporary ceasefire in Gaza.

Israeli media quoted Israeli army and political officials as saying that Tel Aviv will make its decision within a maximum period of 72 hours regarding “the start of the operation in the city of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, or an agreement with Hamas on the exchange of prisoners.”

Officials considered that the decisive factor in the expected decision is Hamas’ response to the Egyptian proposal regarding the exchange deal, which the movement is expected to hand over to Cairo today or tomorrow. According to reports, the Israeli army will give mediation efforts 48 to 72 hours.

This morning, Israeli Army Radio quoted security officials as saying, “If a hostage deal (prisoner exchange) is reached, the operation in Rafah will certainly be postponed, but we will not agree to Hamas’ procrastination.”

The sources continued, "If an agreement is not reached within the next two or three days, the order will be issued to launch an attack on Rafah." The sources added, "The army has completed its preparations for the Rafah operation. The tent camps to evacuate people from Rafah are ready."

The sources said that the Israeli army is awaiting "the final green light from the political leadership" to launch the attack on Rafah.

It stressed that "the security services fully support the deal, even if it comes at difficult costs, but not at the price of ending the war."