Gantz threatened to continue the Israeli war on Gaza (Al Jazeera)

Israeli War Council Minister Benny Gantz said on Sunday that the fighting in the Gaza Strip will continue during the month of Ramadan, and will expand to the city of Rafah, south of the Strip, “if the detainees are not returned.”

This came during the opening of the annual conference of heads of Jewish organizations in America, in the occupied city of Jerusalem, according to the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth.

Gantz considered that "after October 7, unilateral measures, such as recognition of the Palestinian state, are no longer the path to regional stability and political settlements," he said.

He added, "The world must know, and Hamas leaders must know, that if our kidnappers are not in their homes during Ramadan, the fighting will continue and extend to Rafah as well."

He continued, "We will do this in a coordinated manner, and we will allow the evacuation of citizens during discussion with our American and Egyptian partners to avoid harming uninvolved citizens."

Gantz said, "But to those who say the price is too high, I say clearly that Hamas has a choice. They can surrender, release the kidnapped people, and thus the people of Gaza will be able to celebrate the month of Ramadan." He added, "We will continue to fight, in any scenario, until we achieve our goals."

Regarding his vision for the next day in Gaza after the war, Gantz said, “That will happen after at least a year, and we need to start building something new, a civilian government that cannot be Hamas, or Israel.”

He added, "I assume that these factions must be Palestinian factions not linked to Hamas. In any case, in the near future in Gaza, the question is not who will rule in terms of security, because it will be us."

Negotiations stalled

On Tuesday, the Egyptian capital witnessed a round of negotiations between an Israeli delegation headed by Mossad chief David Barnea, CIA chief William Burns, Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel, and Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani.

Yesterday, Saturday, a leading source in the Hamas movement said, “Negotiations cannot be held while hunger is devouring the Palestinian people,” adding that the movement intends to suspend negotiations with Israel until aid and relief are brought into the northern Gaza Strip.

A truce previously prevailed between Hamas and Israel for a week from November 24 to December 1, during which a ceasefire took place, a prisoner exchange took place, and very limited humanitarian aid was brought into Gaza, with Qatari-Egyptian-American mediation.

Tel Aviv estimates that there are about 134 Israeli prisoners in Gaza, while it holds at least 8,800 Palestinians in its prisons, according to official sources from both parties.

Since last October 7, Israel has been waging a devastating war on the Gaza Strip, leaving tens of thousands of civilian victims, most of them children and women, in addition to an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe and massive infrastructure destruction, which led to Tel Aviv appearing before the International Court of Justice on charges of genocide. .

Source: Al Jazeera + Anatolia