Netanyahu did not announce the specific date for the invasion of Rafah (Reuters)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that a date has been set for the Israeli invasion of Rafah, the last refuge for displaced Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, without revealing this date, at a time when a new round of ceasefire talks is being held in Cairo.

Netanyahu added, "Today I received a detailed report on the talks in Cairo, and we are working tirelessly to achieve our goals, foremost of which is the release of all our hostages and achieving complete victory over Hamas."

He continued, "This victory requires entering Rafah and eliminating the terrorist brigades there. This will happen. A date has been set."

For its part, the US State Department said that Washington had not seen a date for an Israeli invasion of Rafah.

This announcement by Netanyahu comes at a time when sources revealed to Al Jazeera on Monday that the mediators presented a new proposal in the last round of negotiations in Cairo for a three-stage ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

A leading source in the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) told Al Jazeera that the Israeli position in the swap deal negotiations still creates obstacles to reaching an agreement.

Yesterday, Sunday, an Israeli military spokesman said that the army had withdrawn all ground forces from the southern Gaza Strip except for one battalion, while Israeli media reported that this withdrawal comes within the framework of preparations for a ground operation in the city of Rafah.

Maariv newspaper confirmed that one of the Israeli army brigades is still present inside Gaza to prevent the return of Palestinians to the northern Gaza Strip.

Israeli media said that the withdrawal of the 98th Division from Khan Yunis comes within the framework of preparations for an operation in Rafah.

Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper also reported, citing sources in the Israeli army, that one of the reasons for the withdrawal is to leave places for the displaced who will be asked to leave Rafah, stressing at the same time that there is no connection between the American pressures exerted on Israel and the withdrawal from Khan Yunis.

For 6 months, the Israeli occupation army has been waging a devastating war on the Gaza Strip, which left tens of thousands of martyrs and wounded, most of them children and women, which necessitated the trial of Tel Aviv before the International Court of Justice on the grounds of genocide.

Source: Al Jazeera + agencies