Israel has set the start of Ramadan as the deadline to release the hostages

This is a new ultimatum from Israel to Hamas. Israeli Minister Benny Gantz, a member of Benjamin Netanyahu’s war cabinet, warned on Sunday that the Jewish state would launch an offensive, particularly against the city of Rafah, if Israeli hostages held in Gaza were not released by Ramadan.

“The world must know and the leaders of Hamas must know: if by Ramadan, the hostages are not at home, fighting will continue everywhere, including in the Rafah region,” declared the former head of Hamas. Israeli army.

A holy month that should begin around March 10

“To those who say the price is too high, I say clearly: Hamas has a choice. They can surrender, free the hostages, and the citizens of Gaza will thus be able to celebrate the Ramadan holiday,” he told the presidents of major American Jewish organizations at a meeting in Jerusalem. Ramadan, the Muslim holy month, begins around March 10, added a speech at the conference.

Despite calls from parts of the international community, Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is determined to launch an offensive against the city of Rafah, backed by Egypt’s closed border, where 1.4 million people crowd together. Most of the displaced people live there in very harsh conditions. Benny Gantz, on the other hand, assured that the invasion would be carried out in a coordinated manner and within the framework of dialogue, “facilitating the evacuation of civilians” to reduce “as much as possible”. Number of victims in their ranks.

Our file on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

The cities of Rafah and Khan Younes, located a few kilometers south of the Gaza Strip, as well as other areas in the Palestinian territory were targeted by Israeli bombardment, which killed 127 people in 24 hours, Hamas’ health ministry indicated. on sunday.