Rafah invasion and prisoner deal: Israeli Cabinet faces ICJ threats over war crimes

Report by Amal Shehadeh, English adaptation by Yasmine Jaroudi

The latest deliberations in Israel's War Cabinet and the mini-security cabinet on Thursday revolved around the imminent threat of an invasion of Rafah as long as progress stalls in the prisoner exchange deal.

This follows the return of Chief of Staff of the Army Herzi Halevi and Mossad Chief Ronen Bar from a special meeting in Cairo with Egyptian Intelligence Director Abbas Kamel, where they discussed the Rafah and prisoner files.

At this time, families of the prisoners hold little optimism for a breakthrough ensuring the return of their loved ones. They have exhausted every avenue of pressure, including sending numerous messages to officials and rallying widespread political and public support.

Simultaneously, Israel is exploring proposals to achieve a breakthrough conducive to finalizing the prisoner exchange deal after Hamas released a video featuring the captured soldier Hersh Polin, pressuring the government and holding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responsible for neglecting the prisoners.

The call of the Israeli prisoner comes in line with public demand for Netanyahu's resignation and a push for a prisoner exchange before any progress in the Rafah operation, which the army is pressing to execute, intensifying its preparations.

Israelis see the one month for Palestinians to evacuate the area before the fighting starts as an opportunity to push for a deal.

Meanwhile, Netanyahu's opponents are exploring ways to pressure him to resign, leveraging revelations from a secret meeting held by the National Security Council discussing strategies to deal with the possibility of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague issuing international arrest warrants against Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi for alleged war crimes against Palestinians.

The assembled officials have initiated a series of measures, including launching a diplomatic campaign and activating Israel's international tools to prevent the ICJ from making such decisions.

On the other hand, Netanyahu is intensifying his contacts with counterparts worldwide, especially in Washington, to thwart such resolutions.