By Thomas Manch on The Post (paywalled)…
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says Israel should agree to a ceasefire deal with Hamas, as a much-anticipated offensive on Rafah appears to begin.
Israel has reportedly begun strikes on Rafah, a southern part of the Gaza strip that Palestinians have fled to as Israel has conducted its months-long war against Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Also on Tuesday morning, NZ Time, Hamas published the terms of a ceasefire deal it had agreed to that involved the release of Israeli hostages – but Israel has not yet agreed.
“There’s a deal on the table. We do not want Israel to go on to Rafah. I think that it’d be catastrophic for the folk, for Palestinians.
“But importantly, we now have an opportunity to actually get an immediate ceasefire in place, to release hostages and to be able to get the parties around the table,“ Luxon said on Tuesday morning.
“This action is not going to be solved militarily.”
Read the full story on The Post here.
