The Palestinian resistance group Hamas warned Sunday that any Israeli ground offensive in Rafah will derail the hostage exchange negotiations.
"Any attack by the occupation army on the city of Rafah would undermine the exchange negotiations," a Hamas leader told the Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Hamas-run Aqsa Television channel, in the meanwhile, quoted a senior Hamas leader as saying that an Israeli ground will "blow up" the hostage exchange negotiations."
The comments came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said it had ordered the military to develop a plan to evacuate Rafah and destroy alleged four Hamas battalions deployed there.
But Netanyahu has faced mounting calls not to attack the city on the border with Egypt, which has become the last refuge for Gazans fleeing Israel's relentless bombardment elsewhere in the coastal territory.
In an interview to be aired on Sunday, Netanyahu told U.S. broadcaster ABC News that those who urged Israel not to go into Rafah were effectively giving Hamas license to remain.
Foreign governments, including Israel's main allies the United States, and humanitarian organisations in particular have voiced deep concern about the effect of a push on Rafah on displaced civilians.
Some 1.4 million people – about half of Gaza's total population – have crowded into Rafah, with many living outside or in tents and where food, water and medical supplies are increasingly scarce.
Renewed talks for a pause in the fighting have been held in Cairo, with Hamas open to a cease-fire, including a possible exchange of hostages for women and children held in Israeli prisons.
