Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that there "is a date" for Israeli ground troops to enter the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians are currently sheltering from the war.
"This victory requires entering Rafah and eliminating the terrorist battalions there. This will happen; there is a date," Netanyahu said in a statement on Monday evening.
The US and other allies have repeatedly warned Israel against a Rafah incursion due to the risk of high civilian casualties, with US President Joe Biden saying this would be crossing "a red line."
However, far-right factions in Netanyahu's coalition government have been pressuring the premier to go ahead with the plan, after Israeli troops surprisingly withdrew from Khan Younis, the second biggest city in Gaza, at the weekend.
Meanwhile, representatives of the US and Israeli governments are unlikely to meet this week to discuss a potential Rafah offensive, according to US National Security Adviser John Kirby.
Kirby said he was expecting a meeting originally planned for this week to happen "sometime next week" instead.