Hamas will likely back away from its willingness for a five-year cease-fire with Israel which means that Israel’s long-planned incursion into Rafah will start early this week, retired Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer, the president of Project Sentinel, told Newsmax on Sunday.

“I don’t think the Israelis have much other choice than to continue to plan for Rafah,” Shaffer, appearing with former U.S. Ambassador to NATO Kurt Volker on Newsmax’s “Sunday Report,” commented. “When Hamas comes back Monday, they’re going to say ‘Oh, we don’t want to do it,’ and I think it’s going to be the final indicator for the Israelis to go ahead and move forward.”

As a result, Shaffer said he forecasts that “you’re going to see the ground operations commence probably no later than Tuesday this coming week going into Rafah.”

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