Breaking

Rafah Operation Imminent, Not a Bluff; ‘Liberate Gaza from Hamas’

Israeli authorities spokesman David Mencer mentioned Monday that Israel’s warning to residents of Rafah to evacuate was not a bluff and marked the start of a long-promised operation by the Israel Defense Force (IDF) to win the struggle.

Asked at a press briefing by Breitbart News whether or not Monday’s warning — together with flyers, SMS messages, phone calls, and Arabic broadcasts — was a tactic to encourage Hamas to simply accept a hostage deal presently on the desk, Israeli authorities spokesman David Mencer instructed that the warnings had been precisely what they seemed to be.

“The purpose of the operation in Rafah is to do exactly what the IDF has stated,” Mencer mentioned. “Rafah contains the last four battalions of Hamas. We cannot leave them in power: it’s been stated quite clearly that if we do that they will simply retake Gaza. And consequently, they will attack us again, because that’s precisely what they have said.”

He mentioned that Israel would “liberate Gaza from Hamas.”

The White House has repeatedly urged Israel to keep away from an assault on Hamas, however Israel seems decided to go forward, whether or not the Biden administration helps it or not.

Mencer famous that the warnings to residents of Rafah, in a strategic location on the Egyptian border, “call on residents of certain specific neighborhoods to relocate … because will be operating against the terrorist organizations in these areas.” He added that the IDF had warned that “Gaza City [in northern Gaza] is still a dangerous active combat zone” and that residents ought to “avoid returning north of Wadi Gaza.”

He mentioned that within the new, expanded humanitarian zones close to Rafah, such because the Al-Mawasi space close to the beachfront, “humanitarian aid will continue.” He confirmed studies that Israel had been informed to cut back the quantity of assist flowing to northern Gaza as a result of there was an excessive amount of meals, and mentioned that markets “both in the north and the south are bustling.”

“The issue has never been about getting aid into Gaza, but about getting aid to the civilians in Gaza before it is stolen, and looted, by Hamas,” Mencer mentioned.

Mercer additionally famous that Monday marked Israel’s official Holocaust memorial day, “Yom HaShoah Ve-Hagevurah” or “Day of (remembrance of) the Holocaust and the Heroism.”

He famous that Israel was mourning the deaths of 4 troopers killed by Hamas on Sunday in a rocket assault on the Keren Shalom border crossing, the place humanitarian assist crosses from Israel into Gaza.

Asked whether or not a Rafah operation meant that negotiations towards a hostage deal had been off, Mencer implied that Israel was nonetheless open to talks: “We have stated many, many times that the Israeli government is committed to do whatever it is that is needed to get our hostages home.” He mentioned that Hamas had “sabotaged” the latest deal in a “deliberate” method.

Hamas refused to conform to a deal until Israel agreed to finish the struggle completely. Israel has refused to try this, since it will imply accepting defeat and permitting Hamas to outlive and return to energy in Gaza.

Mercer put the variety of hostages at 132 hostages, including that “37 of them have unfortunately been killed by Hamas.” Israel’s Army Radio mentioned Sunday that at the very least 60 Israeli hostages are regarded as alive.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the creator of the current e-book, “The Zionist Conspiracy (and how to join it),” now out there on Audible. He can also be the creator of the e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.

Source