JERUSALEM, Israel – After months of negotiations, it appears an agreement between Israel and Hamas for a ceasefire in exchange for the release of some hostages may not happen. During Holocaust Remembrance Day, Hamas is demanding an end to the war while Israeli Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists Israel will keep going.
Hamas announced the latest cease-fire talks have ended. The terror group insists on two key demands. One, the end of the war and two, Israel completely pulls out of the Gaza Strip. Both are non-starters for Israel.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant addressed troops about the talks.
“We are recognizing worrisome signals that Hamas is not planning to accept any deal or agreement with us, and the meaning of this – (an) operation in Rafah and in the entire Gaza Strip in the very near future” Gallant said.
As a prelude to the incursion into Rafah, the IDF has begun to tell civilians in eastern Rafah to leave for the humanitarian zone it’s preparing to get out of harm’s way, dropping fliers in Arabic so civilians would know where to go.
On Sunday, Hamas launched a rocket attack on Israeli soldiers at the Kerem Shalom crossing through which much of the humanitarian aid going in to help Gazan civilians passes. The attack killed four soldiers and wounded nine.
The Biden administration objects to any incursion into the last major Hamas stronghold and Axios reported that the Biden administration stopped a shipment of weapons in an apparent move to stop Israel. Others are reporting the move to stop munitions may be illegal.
On Saturday night, a group of parents whose sons and daughters were soldiers who have fallen in Gaza, called on Netanyahu to go into Rafah. Jeff Daube, of the Lone Soldiers’ Center, came to show his support.
“These parents feel that what we have got to do in order to make the loss of their children worthwhile, meaningful, is to complete this operation and to eradicate Hamas completely,” Daube told CBN News.
Israel also closed Qatar’s Al Jazeera news bureau. Its bureau chief says it’s a blow to democracy, but Israel’s communications minister called the network a Hamas mouthpiece that incites against the State of Israel and undermines Israel’s security.
At Israel’s annual commemoration for the Holocaust Sunday night, Netanyahu compared Israel’s plight to the Holocaust.
“Today, we again confront enemies bent on our destruction. I say to the leaders of the world – no amount of pressure, no decision by any international forum will stop Israel from defending itself,” Netanyahu said.
Israel stands at a defining moment in its history and Netanyahu pledged, if necessary, Israel will stand alone.
“As the Prime Minister of Israel, the one and only Jewish state, I pledge here today from Jerusalem, on this Holocaust Remembrance Day, if Israel is forced to stand alone, Israel will stand alone,” he declared.
On Monday morning, a siren sounded throughout the country. Traffic stopped and Israelis stood in silence to remember the six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust.
With the number of threats surrounding Israel and the alarming rise of global anti-Semitism, some see an ominous parallel between Israel in 2024 and the 1930’s in Germany. The difference now being that the Jewish people can defend themselves.