Rabat – Israel has threatened to extend its devastating war on Palestinians to the southern Gaza border town of Rafah during the holy month of Ramadan.
“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,” said Benny Gantz, a senior Israeli politician and a retired army general, at a conference of Jewish American leaders.
The threats come despite the international pressure on Israel’s Occupation Forces (IOF) to cease its brutal campaign in Gaza, where over 28,000 armless and defenseless Palestinians have been killed since October 7.
Amid the devastating situation in Gaza, the IOF have now expanded their brutal campaign to Rafah, where millions have been taking refuge after fleeing other parts of Gaza.
The Israeli government claims that Rafah, located on the border with Egypt, is the last stronghold of the Palestinian organization Hamas in Gaza.
Fearing for their lives, thousands of Palestinians have tried to flee Rafah amid imminent escalation of the Israeli ground offensive in the region. Yet, as the region was originally designated the last “safe zone,” civilians are finding nowhere to go.
Rafah is the last refuge of three-quarters of the Palestinian population that has been internally displaced from other cities and towns across war-torn Gaza.
According to the UN and several international NGOs, scores of defenseless and innocent displaced Palestinians are now living in large tent encampments in Rafah, where they have been surviving without enough access to food, water, or medical care.
On Sunday, the Health Ministry in Gaza reported that 127 individuals have died within a 24-hour period as the IOF continued their bombing campaign in Rafah in preparation for a full-throated invasion of the border town.
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