Israel-Hamas Conflict Escalates as Netanyahu Threatens Strikes to Free Hostages

Israel-Hamas Conflict

Netanyahu threatens to attack Rafah to free hostages Hamas may be holding there

The ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza has escalated, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatening further strikes to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas. Israeli airstrikes have resulted in numerous civilian casualties, including women and children, leading to international criticism.

In the West Bank, Israeli forces have shot and killed three Palestinians in separate incidents, further fueling violence in the region. The United States has imposed sanctions on groups funding extremist Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians, signaling a shift in policy towards Israel. The situation remains tense and volatile, with no immediate resolution in sight.

Key Concepts

• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatens additional strikes against Hamas to secure the release of hostages in Gaza.
• Israeli airstrikes in Rafah, Gaza, resulted in civilian casualties, including women and children.
• U.S. lawmakers approve $26 billion in aid to Israel, including humanitarian aid to Gaza.
• Palestinian Health Ministry reports 48 Palestinians killed and 79 injured in the past 24 hours.
• Israeli military shoots and kills three Palestinians in separate incidents in the West Bank.
• The United States imposes sanctions on groups funding extremist Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank.
• Hamas launches a terrorist attack on Israel, resulting in casualties and hostages.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday threatened “additional and painful strikes” against Hamas to fight for the release of hostages held in Gaza on the eve of the Jewish holiday of Passover.

Netanyahu said, “We will increase military and political pressure on Hamas in the next few days because this is the only way to free our hostages.”

The Israeli army said that some of the hostages kidnapped by Hamas on October 7 are being Detained in Rafah, southern Gaza.

“The chief of staff approved the next step in the war,” military spokesman Maj. Gen. Daniel Hagari said in a televised address late Sunday. He did not provide specific information.

He said, “The hostages will be held for 200 days until Passover. We will fight until you go home.”

Netanyahu has repeatedly threatened to attack Rafah, saying that Hamas members are still hiding there. The threats defy calls for restraint from the international community, including from Israel’s main ally, the United States.

An Israeli airstrike overnight in Rafah killed 22 people, including 18 children, officials said Sunday. Israel has vowed to expand ground attacks against Hamas militants in the city, which has 1.4 million people, mostly refugees.

A nearby Kuwaiti hospital that received the bodies said the airstrike killed a man, his pregnant wife, and their 3-year-old child. Doctors managed to safely deliver the baby from the dead mother. Another airstrike killed 17 children and two women.

When asked about the casualties in Rafah, an Israeli military spokesman said that it had struck different militant targets in Gaza, including military compounds, launch stations, and armed personnel.

Abdul Al, a Palestinian man whose family member was killed, said, “Have you seen one man among all those dead?” He felt sad over the body of a child wrapped in a white shroud.

“It was all women and children,” he told the media. “My whole family was wiped out—my wife, my children, and everyone.”

More than 1.4 million Gazans have fled Israeli airstrikes on the rest of Gaza due to almost daily airstrikes. Rafa ducks after the area.

Despite global criticism over the death toll in Gaza, U.S. lawmakers approved $26 billion in new aid to Israel, including $9 billion in humanitarian aid to Gaza.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said on Sunday that 48 Palestinians were killed and 79 injured in Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours.

The Palestinian Health Authority said that since the war began in Gaza, more than 34,000 people have been killed and nearly 77,000 injured in Israeli attacks.

West Bank

Israeli military personnel shot and killed three Palestinians in the occupied West Bank on Sunday.

The Israeli army said three Palestinians attacked Israeli soldiers at two separate locations. In the first incident, a man shot at Israeli troops near the Palestinian city of Hebron, and another man tried to assassinate them before Israeli troops shot both men.

A media photographer saw a body at the scene. Ambulances were blocked from reaching the scene, Palestinian official Wafa news agency said, citing local sources. Two victims were later confirmed dead; one was 18 years old and the other was 19 years old.

The second incident occurred at a checkpoint in the northern West Bank, where the Israeli army said a woman tried to assassinate a soldier, who then opened fire. She was later confirmed dead by health authorities.

Violence in the West Bank has increased since the war between Israel and Kazakhstan, with Israeli troops frequently attacking militant groups, Jewish settlers rampaging through Palestinian villages, and Palestinians fatally ambushing Israeli military personnel on the streets.

Netanyahu said on Sunday he would oppose any sanctions imposed on any Israeli military unit over alleged rights abuses in the West Bank, a move that the media had previously reported Washington was planning.

The Axios news website reported on Saturday that Washington plans to impose sanctions on Israel’s Netzah Yehuda battalion operating in the occupied West Bank, but the Israeli military said it was unaware of any such measures.

The United States on Friday announced a series of sanctions against groups that fund extremist Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank. It is the latest sign of U.S. dissatisfaction with the policies of Netanyahu, whose coalition government relies on settler parties.

According to Israeli data, Hamas launched a terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 people, and Israel launched an offensive in response. The militants also took about 250 people hostage. Hamas has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, and other countries.