Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered troops to prepare to enter the overcrowded Gazan city of Rafah, even as a new round of talks aimed at securing a truce with Hamas was set to open today in Cairo, AFP reports.

Netanyahu announced the order after rejecting Hamas’s response to a ceasefire proposal at the centre of intense recent diplomatic efforts, though visiting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken insisted on Wednesday that he still saw “space for agreement to be reached”.

In televised remarks Wednesday, Netanyahu said he had ordered troops to “prepare to operate” in the city and that “total victory” over Hamas was just months away.

Regarding the ceasefire proposal, he added: “Giving in to the bizarre demands of Hamas that we have just heard will… only invite another massacre.”