After ceasefire negotiations have faltered, Israel has given Hamas a new ultimatum, with top Israeli war cabinet official Benny Gantz saying that Israel will launch a full assault on the southern city of Rafah if all remaining hostages aren't released by Ramadan. The Muslim holiday begins on March 10 this year, which is a few weeks away.
"The world must know, and Hamas leaders must know — if by Ramadan our hostages are not home, the fighting will continue to the Rafah area," Gantz told a conference of Jewish American organizations in Jerusalem on Sunday.
There have been airstrikes and sporadic ground raids on some parts of the refugee-packed city; however, the full assault has yet to come. On Monday 26 out of 26 European Union states issued a plea for immediate 'humanitarian pause' and for the impending Rafah operation to be halted. Hungary was the lone dissenter.
"To those saying the price is too high, I say this very clearly: Hamas has a choice — they can surrender, release the hostages, and the citizens of Gaza will be able to celebrate the holy holiday of Ramadan,” Gantz added in his statement.
This marks the first time Israeli leadership has issued a clear timeline on the start of the Rafah offensive.
Israel, following recent weeks of mounting pressure from Washington and other allies, has sought to assure the West that it will seek to evacuate those civilians willing to leave Rafah before the full assault begins.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi earlier this month explained, "We know that it is more difficult for us to fight in an environment where there are over a million people and another 10,000 Hamas operatives."
The then pledged to allow for the safe exit of civilians. It's believed the city has been inundated with over a million internally displaced since the war started after Oct.7. "In previous parts of the war, we sought to isolate the population. We have the capabilities to do it. We did it in Gaza City. We did it in Khan Younis. We did it in the central camps [of Gaza]," Halevi said.
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