A member of Israel’s war cabinet has said the country will launch its threatened ground offensive against Rafah, the last place of relative safety in Gaza, if Hamas does not release its remaining Israeli hostages by the beginning of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan in just under three weeks.
“The world must know, and Hamas leaders must know – if by Ramadan our hostages are not home, the fighting will continue everywhere, including the Rafah area,” Benny Gantz, a retired Israel Defense Forces (IDF) chief of staff, told a conference of American Jewish leaders in Jerusalem on Sunday.
As Israeli forces have expanded ground operations steadily southwards in their war against Hamas over the past four months, Rafah – situated on the border with Egypt, and before the conflict home to about 280,000 people – has become the last refuge for more than half of the strip’s population of 2.3 million.
Read as “Israel promises to attack DURING Ramadan…”
Unlike others who never attacked during Yom Kipur or party for example.
So the assault isn’t some necessary part of their plan to target Hamas, it’s just a fucking holocaust they’re using as a threat.
Good to know.
Maybe Hamas should release the hostages.
They said they’re willing to, but only in exchange for a permanent ceasefire and the release of Palestinian prisoners
Of which there are thousands in arbitrary detention waiting to be tried in sham military courts.
Yeah the Israelis seem like a sensible bunch. I’m sure that will be the end of it.
$5 says they launch regardless of mitigating factors
I’ve got $5 on they launch before the date provided.
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I’m gonna take the under on that action
If I were a Palestinian, I would be so fucking pissed at Hamas. Like, Hamas fucked up, and continues to fuck up, but Palestinians suffer for Hamas fuck ups. Release the hostages you fucking terrorists.
If I were a Palestinian I’d be pissed at Israel and Hamas, one for killing our people, and the other for killing our people
It’s been said before, but if I were a Palestinian (or an Israeli) I’d also be angry at Israeli politicians like Netenyahu for helping prop up Hamas, in order to divide the Palestinian cause and undermine the PLO.
100%
Palestinians were already suffering before hamas fucked up, Israel was just trying to hide it before OCT 7, now they have an excuse so they don’t need to hide it anymore, also why doesn’t Israel agree to the hostage deals and continue to reject ceasefires proposed by hamas?
So to summarize:-
-Hamas very bad
-IDF much more very bad
-IDF would kill and genocide even if no Hamas
If Hamas didn’t exist then I’m sure that Israel would find some way to invent them.
They literally invented them. They propped them up with cash.
Nah, miss me with your Israeli propaganda. Blame the people that pull the trigger while aiming at you.
Did you miss the part 30 minutes before your comment when someone said they would be mad at both and sin free agreed?
The blame falls on the people pulling the trigger. Don’t fall prey to the fucking wifebeater’s excuse.
Without Hamas, the terrorist state of israel would just keep oppressing and terrorizing Palestinians.
Good thing Hamas did so much for them not to be oppressed. Especially now, look how unoppressed they are.
If I were a Palestine I would blame the Zionists for bringing ruin on me and my people for the last 75 years.
paint-level depth of empathy right there
Problem is that not all the hostages were taken by Hamas. Groups like PIJ, DFLP, PFLP and others also took part in the attacks on October 7 alongside Hamas and supposedly took hostages of their own.
For my own sanity I choose to believe you’re just a troll rage baiting
Don’t forget Netanyahu who is one of the Hamas supporters. Also, do you know what’s happening in the West Bank which is not governed by Hamas?
They’re going to launch the Rafah assault anyway, why would Hamas give up their one bargaining point?
Their not very good bargaining points as Israel has established it couldn’t care any less about them. Hell the attacks have killed at least a couple of em. At this point releasing them is the only end I can see here, Israel primary motivation/excuse for the attack is to free/kill the hostages and deter further incursions by hamas to take hostages. If they don’t have any hostages the argument for an attack is weaker, not that that’ll deter the folks in charge.
human lives aren’t “bargaining points”, and if you have no intention to return them then you aren’t even using them as that, as fucked as it is
edit: this is a perfect example why lemmy won’t really take off anytime soon. ya’ll think having a position of “taking hostages is bad” is somehow the wrong opinion. good way to have legitimate discussion guys…
I’ll just note that Israel is using the million and a half innocent Gazans currently in Rafah as a bargaining point.
In the game of hostages, Israel has way more.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
A member of Israel’s war cabinet has said the country will launch its threatened ground offensive against Rafah, the last place of relative safety in Gaza, if Hamas does not release its remaining Israeli hostages by the beginning of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan in just under three weeks.
As Israeli forces have expanded ground operations steadily southwards in their war against Hamas over the past four months, Rafah – situated on the border with Egypt, and before the conflict home to about 280,000 people – has become the last refuge for more than half of the strip’s population of 2.3 million.
In Gaza on Monday, the IDF claimed victory in the weeks-long fight for the central town of Khan Younis and nearby refugee camps, making the prospect of a Rafah ground attack more likely.
A major offensive in Rafah, which world leaders fear could lead to a humanitarian catastrophe, during Ramadan could also serve as a trigger for further violence across Israel, the occupied Palestinian territories and the wider region.
Netanyahu, who fears becoming more vulnerable in his three corruption trials if he is ousted from office when the war ends, is widely believed in Israel to be kowtowing to the demands of his far-right coalition partners, who have repeatedly threatened to collapse his government over concessions to either Hamas or Palestinians in general.
While the US, Israel’s most important ally, has provided crucial military support and diplomatic cover for the Israeli war effort, relations between Biden and Netanyahu have reached a nadir over the colossal, and growing, death toll in Gaza.
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