When Will Israel Expand Its Military Operations in Gaza to the Southern City of Rafah

Israel will expand its military operations in the Gaza Strip to the southern city of Rafah if hostages held by militants are not released by the end of the first ten days of March and the beginning of Ramadan. This warning was issued by Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz on Sunday while speaking at a conference of Jewish organizational leaders in Jerusalem, TASS reports.

“The world should know, and the leaders of Hamas should understand, that if our hostages are not home by Ramadan, fighting will continue everywhere, including the Rafah area. We will do this systematically, facilitating the evacuation of civilians in dialogue with our American and Egyptian partners to minimize civilian casualties,” Gantz stated, a former head of the Ministry of Defense and Chief of Staff of the Israeli Army.

Gantz also added, “To those who say that the cost of the (Rafah attack) is too high, I say very clearly that Hamas has a choice.” Ramadan, according to Arab astronomers, falls between March 11 and April 9 in 2024.