Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated on Sunday that the military would soon enter Rafah, which is bracketed by a closed Egyptian border. Images and videos on social media, which could not immediately be verified, showed injured people and damage to buildings in Rafah. On Sunday, Mr. Netanyahu promised to offer Palestinians “safe passage” to northern areas of Gaza before the planned ground invasion, though he offered no details. On Wednesday, Mr. Netanyahu spurned an offer from Hamas to free Israeli hostages in exchange for Israel withdrawing from Gaza, abiding by a long-term cease-fire and freeing Palestinians held in Israeli jails. Asked during an interview broadcast on Sunday how many of the remaining hostages were still alive, Mr. Netanyahu said, “Enough to warrant the kind of efforts that we’re doing.”

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Persons: ”, Benjamin Netanyahu, Daniel Hagari, Wafa, Ziad Obeid, Netanyahu, Israel, Mohammed Abed Organizations: Hamas, Local, Palestinian Authority, ”, Kuwait Hospital, United Nations, ., Agence France Locations: Gazan, Rafah, Israel, Kuwait, United States, Britain, Gaza, Egypt