One Chance
Read Time:3 Minute, 27 Second
Israel gives Hamas one chance to stave off an assault on the the Palestinian enclave of Rafah as Hezbollah rain missiles on IDF bases
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz has warned that an invasion of the city of Rafah will go ahead unless Hamas agrees to release some of the Israeli hostages still held in Gaza. Hamas is expected to comment on an Israeli truce proposal imminently.
Israeli officials have been threatening to launch a ground operation in Rafah for several months now, despite strong opposition from the US and UN. Located in southern Gaza near the Egyptian border, Rafah is currently home to around 1.4 million displaced Palestinians from the northern reaches of the enclave, and an invasion of the city would have “terrible consequences” for the civilians living there, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned earlier this month.
Omri Miran appears in a video released by Hamas on April 27, 2024 © AFP
“If there is a deal, we will suspend the operation,” Katz told Israel’s Channel 12 on Saturday. “The release of the hostages is a deep priority for us,” he continued, adding: “If there is an option to make a deal, we will do it.”
Hamas captured around 250 hostages during its October 7 assault on Israel, of whom 130 are believed to still be held in Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has come under intense pressure from the hostages’ families to cut a deal with the militants to release their loved ones, with weekly protests taking place in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
In a proof-of-life video released by Hamas on Saturday, Israeli-American hostage Kieth Siegel urges Netanyahu to “be more flexible in negotiations to reach an exchange deal soon.”
Hamas presented Israel with ceasefire terms earlier this month, and received Israel’s counter-proposal on Friday, the group said in a statement on Saturday. Hamas said that it is studying the proposal, and Israeli officials anticipate a response by the end of the weekend, Channel 12 reported.
Hezbollah militants reportedly targeted several Israeli military installations, including a critical air surveillance base, with a barrage of rockets and drones on Saturday, after a series of Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon earlier in the day.
Dozens of missiles struck Mount Meron, the highest peak in Israel outside the Golan Heights, late Saturday night, according to videos circulating online. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claimed that all of the rockets were “either intercepted or fell in open areas” with no damage or casualties reported, according to the Times of Israel and Jerusalem Post.
The Lebanese militant group claimed responsibility for the strike, saying in a statement early Sunday that “in response to the Israeli enemy’s attacks on the steadfast southern villages and civilian homes,” it targeted the “Meron settlement and the surrounding settlements with dozens of Katyusha rockets.”
The group said it also “launched a complex attack using explosive drones and guided missiles on the headquarters of the Al Manara military command and a gathering of forces from the 51st Battalion of the Golani Brigade,” earlier on Saturday. The IDF said it intercepted the incoming projectiles and “struck the sources of fire” in the Lebanese border area.
Smoke rises from the scene of an Israeli bombardment in Rafah, Gaza, April 21, 2024 © AFP / Mohammed Abed
On Saturday, the Israeli Air Force conducted a series of strikes in the villages of Al-Quzah, Markaba, and Sarbin in southern Lebanon with airstrikes, reportedly targeting Hezbollah’s “terrorist and military infrastructure.” On Friday, the IDF also struck several structures in Kfarkela and Kfarchouba.
The war, now in its seventh month, was triggered by an attack by Hamas militants on Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 and taking 253 hostages, by Israeli tallies.
Israel has vowed to eradicate Hamas, which controls Gaza, in a military operation that has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, 66 of them in the past 24 hours, according to Gaza’s health authorities. The war has displaced most of the 2.3 million population and laid much of the enclave to waste.
Source X/RT/Telegram/IRNA/Reuters
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