Israel-Hamas war: Benny Gantz, a minister of Israel’s war cabinet has warned Hamas that they must return all the hostages by March 10 or Israeli forces will launch a ground invasion in Rafah. The warning came as the 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza are seeking refugee in Rafah, a small city close to the Egypt border. The international agencies have raised concerns that any attack on Rafah will lead to a “massacre.”
The death toll in Israeli strikes on Gaza has crossed 28,000 and the peace proposals moved by Egypt, Qatar, and the United States are not creating much movement on the ground. While Israel’s closest ally, the US has repeatedly warned the Benjamin Netanyahu-led regime to stop the killings of civilians, the Israeli forces have continued their indiscriminate attacks.
Israel-Hamas war in Rafah: 10 things to know
1. The Israeli government has warned Hamas to free the hostages by Ramadan, which begins on March 10, or the IDF will launch its ground offensive against Rafah. Tel Aviv said that they have reliable intelligence that most of the hostages are kept in Rafah.
2. Benny Gantz said that Israel is working with its allies like the United States in a coordinated manner to evacuate common citizens and minimize civilian casualties.
3. The remarks came as Egypt has cleared that they won’t allow any Palestinian refugees on their territory. Cairo raised concerns about the Israel-Hamas war shifting to Rafah as it can push the Palestinian people in Egypt.
4. Earlier, several sources from Israel claimed that the government wants to push out Palestinians from Gaza so that they can launch a resettlement plan and Israeli citizens can go back to the territory.
5. For the second time since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Monday heard another plea on the plight of Palestinians in Gaza.
6. The international court heard the representatives of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Israel, and the Palestinian Authority. The hearing comes after the UNGA asked the ICJ for an advisory opinion on the consequences of Israel’s “occupation, settlement and annexation … including measures aimed at altering the demographic composition, character, and status of the Holy City of Jerusalem, and from its adoption of related discriminatory legislation and measures”.
7. Palestinian Foreign Affairs Minister Riyad al-Maliki presented his views at the ICJ and said, “2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza, half of them children, are besieged and bombed, killed and maimed, starved and displaced. More than 3.5 million Palestinians in the West Bank, including in Jerusalem, are subjected to colonization of their territory and racist violence that enables it,” he said.
8. Riyad al-Maliki said that the ICJ’s decision can increase the chances of peace in Gaza. “This ruling could help both Palestinians and Israelis to finally live side by side in peace, mutual security, and dignity,” he told reporters.
9. Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed the ICJ’s hearing and said that the country doesn’t recognize the legitimacy of the hearings at the International Court of Justice in regard to the occupation of Palestinian territory.
10. “The discussion at The Hague is part of the Palestinian attempt to dictate the results of the political agreement without negotiations,” he said.
(With inputs from AP)
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Vikram Sharma is a globe-trotting journalist with a global perspective on international events. His articles offer readers a global perspective on international events, exploring complex geopolitical issues and providing insights into the world’s most pressing challenges.
