Peloni: In a year and a half, not a single Gazan has come to report details surrounding the whereabouts of a single hostage. NOT ONE. So while Katz’ commentary to the Gazans about the distinctions which separate them from the Hamas leadership is useful to inform the entire world of these facts, it must be understood by all reasonable men that Gazans are Hamas. They have been well trained for the effect of rejoicing in the savagery of October 7 and resistant to the most generous of offers to produce just one equivalent of the Righteous Gentiles of WWII…and yet we here only crickets in response.
Israeli forces in the Rafah area (Photo: IDF)
The Israeli military has encircled the strategically important southern Gazan border town Rafah, the IDF confirmed in an official statement.
“The IDF will continue to solidify its control on the main passageway and take action to thwart terror activity,” the military stated.
The IDF has completed its deployment along the so-called Morag Corridor in Gaza, which effectively cuts southern Gaza from the rest of the coastal enclave.
In addition, Israeli forces are also controlling the Philadelphi Corridor, which separates southern Gaza from Egyptian.
By controlling both these corridors, the IDF seeks to encircle and isolate southern Gaza where much of Hamas’s remaining operatives are believed to be located. The IDF says it has killed dozens of Hamas operatives in recent days of fighting including senior terrorist commanders.
Meanwhile, Israeli aerial defenses successfully intercepted three rockets that were launched by terrorists in southern Gaza against Israeli border communities. There were no reported Israeli injuries or material damage from the Gazan rockets.
Earlier this week Hamas terrorists fired 10 rockets at the southern Israeli coastal city Ashkelon in the largest barrage of Gazan rockets against Israel in several months.
“Following the sirens that sounded at 21:01-21:02 in the Lakhish area, approximately ten projectiles were identified crossing into Israeli territory from central Gaza,” the IDF said in an official statement.
“Approximately five projectiles were successfully intercepted by the IAF [Israeli Air Force]. Falls were identified in several areas. IDF Home Front Command soldiers are dispatched to the scenes and are operating in cooperation with Israeli security forces,” the military added. The Gazan rocket barrage did not cause any human casualties or material damage in Israel. By contrast, Hamas fired some 4000 rockets against Israel during its unprecedented attack on the Jewish state on October 7, 2023. The Israeli military has assessed that the large majority of Hamas’s original rocket stockpile is depleted after over 18 months of war with Israel.
While Israel has largely neutralized the once serious Hamas rocket threat, the terror group keeps occasionally firing smaller number of rockets, likely to project that it still retains some capabilities.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz urged Gaza’s population to end the war by removing the terrorist organization Hamas from power and releasing the remaining 59 Israeli hostages.
“It is time to stand up and remove Hamas and release all the Israeli hostages. This is the only way to end the war,” he stressed, adding that “those interested will also be able to voluntarily move to various countries around the world, in accordance with the vision of the US president, which we are working to carry out.”
The defense minister warned that the Israeli military’s operations against Hamas would expand to most parts of Gaza.
“Intensive IDF activity will soon expand to additional places in most of Gaza, and you will have to evacuate the combat zones,” he assessed.
Katz told Gaza’s civilians that Hamas leaders are not concerned about their well-being.
“Hamas is unable to protect the residents or the territory. Hamas leaders are hiding in tunnels with their families and in luxury hotels abroad with billions in their bank accounts and are using you as hostages,” he said.
A senior Hamas official told the news outlet AFP that the terror group would dispatch a delegation to Cairo for talks concerning a new ceasefire agreement.
“We hope the meeting will achieve real progress towards reaching an agreement to end the war, halt the aggression and ensure the full withdrawal of occupation forces from Gaza,” the Hamas official stated.
@Sebastien
@Adam
@keelie
I have heard it stated several times that there have been no such accounts of Gazans performing as Righteous Gentiles during the Gazan war, as Adam claims to exist. If anyone has any knowledge of such reports, I would certainly appreciate it being shared here. This is not a rhetorical statement, but a sincere request.
@Adam, Peloni, Keelie Dershowitz quoting Trump asking hostages if they got even a single kind gesture from a Gazan and receiving a reply in the negative.
https://www.youtube.com/live/x6tQEpA9NpA?si=5kFlM_1zRvJoGF97
@Adam
Unlike keelie, I am most anxious to read of who these Righteous Gazans are, and what it acts of righteousness came to grant them such an audacious accolade. It takes more than Hamas slaughters to substantiate such a claim, but if you have something tangible to support this notion, where are the reports. I haven’t seen them, but I am anxious to read them if they exist, and I think others would be as well, particularly if they are in such numbers as you suggest.
Adam D: Sounds promising, but do you have any numbers/sources for what you say? Not saying you should disclose these things openly, but do you have this type of information… and a rough assessment of the extent of what this means?
Peloni: Now how do you squeeze this information on a placard?
And of course, how do you get “the world” to understand what it means, or care about what it means?
Peloni, there have been many Righteous Gentiles in Gaza during this war as well as the earlier ones with Hamas. Hamas executes a Gazan almost daily for spying for Israel, Most of Israel’s targeted hits on Hamas leaders without the help of these Gazan ‘traitors.” Proportionate to population, there have probably been more “Righteous Gentiles” in Gaza during this war than there were in Germany during World War Two.