Hamas Ready To Protect Palestinians If Israel Attacks Rafah

The condition of Gaza's children in refugee camps/UNRWA via news.un.org

JAKARTA - The Palestinian Hamas Movement said that resistance led by the Qassam Brigade military wing was ready to defend Palestinians in the event of an Israeli military operation in Rafah City, Gaza.

"Military operations in Rafah will not be easy for fascist occupation soldiers," the movement wrote via Telegram as reported by ANTARA, Monday, May 6.

"Our brave resistance, led by the Qassam Brigade, is fully prepared to protect our people, defeat this enemy, thwart its plans and thwart its goals," he continued.

Media Times of Israel reported earlier that the Israeli Armed Forces (IDF) began calling on Palestinians to leave the eastern part of Rafah ahead of planned military operations.

The Israeli military advises local residents to move to a humanitarian zone in the region of Al Manawasi and Khan Younis.

Meanwhile, Palestinian presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh later said Palestinians were calling on the US Government to act immediately to prevent Israeli operations in Rafah.

Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu stressed his government would never give up on its military goals in Gaza. He said Israel's withdrawal from Gaza meant Israel's surrender and a major victory for Hamas and Iran.

He emphasized that Israel had and was still ready to make a deal on the battlefield to ensure the release of the kidnapped Israelis. Israel made these efforts, he continued, in order to free 124 hostages and then return to war.

Hamas was previously considering a new proposal for a hostage-taking deal filed by Egypt requiring the release of 33 Israeli hostages in exchange for a temporary ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

The proposal, compiled with Israeli help, consists of 2 stages. The first phase of the agreement includes the release of 20-33 hostages over several weeks in exchange for a pause in fighting and the release of Palestinian prisoners by Israel.

The duration of the ceasefire could be extended by relying on the number of hostages released. Then, as part of the second phase of the deal, Hamas was asked to swap the remaining hostages, including the Israeli army and its bodies with more Palestinian prisoners.