"Hamas has the choice"
Israeli minister threatens new offensive in March
Benny Gantz, minister in the Israeli war cabinet, has threatened an offensive on Rafah around March 10. "The world must know and the Hamas leadership must know: If the hostages are not home by Ramadan, the fighting will continue everywhere, including in the Rafah region," Gantz said on Sunday.
The Islamist fasting month of Ramadan begins around March 10. "To those who say the price is too high, I say very clearly: Hamas has a choice. They can surrender, release the hostages and the civilians in Gaza can celebrate Ramadan," said Gantz in Jerusalem. An Israeli offensive would be coordinated and carried out in consultation with the US and Egypt to evacuate civilians.
Netanyahu: Agreement changes nothing
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also insists on a military offensive in Rafah despite international warnings (see video above). Even an agreement with Hamas on the release of the hostages would not change the plan. Rafah is located on the border with Egypt and currently offers around 1.4 million Palestinians refuge from the fighting. A number of governments, including Israel's closest ally the USA, are therefore calling for the operation to be abandoned.
Egypt's government, for example, assumes that women and children in particular will lose their lives. "The consequences of the Israeli offensive for the civilian population are already unparalleled in the 21st century," said Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry.
Focus on the south
The current Israeli military operations are mainly in the south of the Gaza Strip, such as in the town of Khan Younis. On Sunday, the army announced that it was still in the Nasser Hospital and in its vicinity, where it "found additional weapons".
Fighters from Hamas and other terrorist organizations had invaded Israel on 7 October and committed atrocities there, mainly against civilians. Around 1160 people were killed and around 250 were taken hostage in the Gaza Strip. 130 of them are said to still be in the area, 30 of whom are now dead. Since then, Israel's army has launched a massive military operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. More than 28,900 people are said to have died in the process.
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