Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended his plan Monday to expand Israel’s military offensive into the southern city of Rafah while his defense minister warned Hamas not to test Israel’s resolve during Ramadan.
Netanyahu dismissed the objections of President Joe Biden and other world leaders over the fate of Rafah, saying he doesn’t want to leave “a quarter of the Hamas terror army in place.”
Netanyahu, speaking on Fox News Channel’s Fox and Friends, said Hamas must be defeated completely or the militant group will regroup, regain control of Gaza and repeat the Oct. 7 rampage that killed almost 1,200 people and saw about 250 hostages seized.
Rafah is a southern Gaza city bordering Egypt where more than 1 million Palestinians have sought refuge as Israel storms through the enclave. Biden agrees Hamas must be destroyed but wants to ensure the safe departure of civilians from Rafah “before we go in, we agree with that,” Netanyahu said.
“Look, it’s either Israel or Hamas. There is no middle way,” Netanyahu said. “We can’t leave a quarter of the Hamas terror army in place. They’re there in Rafah. This would be equivalent to saying, you know, after the allies fought back, gone through Normandy, went through Germany, and you’d say, well, we’ll leave a quarter of the Nazi army in place, and we won’t go into Berlin, the last stronghold.”
Netanyahu rebuffs Biden:Says Israelis overwhelmingly back war
Developments:
∎ Mahjoob Zweiri, a professor at Qatar University, told Al Jazeera the U.S. pressured Israel not to tighten access restrictions at East Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam’s third holiest, in the West Bank during Ramadan. “If the Israelis do not listen to the Americans, West Bank is likely to become another Gaza in a matter of months,” Zweiri warned.
∎ Israeli troops and security forces arrested 20 wanted people in what was described as a counter-terrorism operation in the West Bank. The Israeli military said 3,500 suspects have been arrested in the West Bank since the war began, over 1,500 of them associated with Hamas.
∎ Iran Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kan’ani dismissed U.S. efforts to airdrop aid as “merely symbolic” and part of the U.S. attempt to justify providing Israel with weapons being used in Gaza.
When is Ramadan 2024?What is it? Muslims set to mark a month of spirituality, reflection
Israeli military issues warning as Ramadan begins
The holy month of Ramadan prompted fasting and worship by Muslims around the world Monday, but it brought no end to the death and destruction wrought by the war in the Gaza Strip despite intense effort by the U.S. and other nations to broker a cease-fire. Palestinians prayed amid rubble and fear after talks stalled over Israel’s resolve to crush Hamas and the militant group’s demands for a pathway to permanent peace and the withdrawal of all Israeli troops from Gaza. Hamas has called for stepped-up resistance, drawing a warning from Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
“I say to everyone who is thinking of trying us this month − we are ready. Don’t make mistakes,” he said.
Biden issued a statement acknowledging that the sacred month has arrived “at a moment of immense pain” in the enclave as the death toll surpasses 31,000 while almost 2 million remain displaced. He said the U.S. will continue leading the effort to increase humanitarian aid while “working nonstop” to broker a peace agreement.
“As Muslims gather around the world over the coming days and weeks to break their fast, the suffering of the Palestinian people will be front of mind for many,” Biden said. “It is front of mind for me.”
Jordan warns of possible ‘explosion’ at Islamic holy site
Any restrictions imposed by Israel on Muslim worshippers’ access to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound during the Muslim fasting month could result in an “explosion,” Jordan Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi warned Monday. Video posted on social media Sunday night appeared to show Israeli Border Police clashing with worshippers, and police saying they were working to “enable freedom of worship (while) ensuring safety and security.”
Israel announced last week it would not reduce the number of worshippers allowed to pray at the site, one of Islam’s three holiest, for at least a week while monitoring security. The mosque is part of Temple Mount, the holiest place in Judaism where two biblical Temples once stood.
No damage reported from latest attack on Red Sea shipping
An explosion took place near a ship in the Red Sea on Monday, but the ship’s master said no one was hurt, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said. The attack likely came from the Yemen-based Houthi rebels that have been targeting ships, claiming support for Palestinians in Gaza. The private security firm Ambrey said the incident may have involved a missile, but few details were available and the Houthis issued no immediate statement.
A Houthi missile struck the commercial ship True Confidence in the Gulf of Aden last week, killing three of its crew members and forcing survivors to abandon ship. It was the first fatal strike since the attacks began late last year.
Contributing: The Associated Press
