Hamas said it has only three weeks to free Israel's hostages or face a massacre in Gaza's last terror stronghold of Rafah.
HAMAS has been given a three-week deadline to free Israel's remaining hostages – otherwise there will be a massacre in its only remaining stronghold.
Retired General Benny Gantz – a powerful member of Israel's war cabinet – said troops would continue their feared assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah on March 10.
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Gantz – tipped for success under PM fire Benjamin Netanyahu – said: “If our hostages are not home by Ramadan (March 10), the fighting will continue into the Rafah area.”
It was the first time Israeli leaders publicly discussed a timeline for an operation in the southern city, where more than half of the area's 2.3 million residents have sought refuge.
Hamas terrorists – probably also the leader Yahya Sinwar – hide among terrified civilians and an extensive tunnel network beneath the besieged city.
Brutal Sinwar, accused of being the mastermind of the barbarian October 7 attackhas been described as Israel's most wanted man in Gaza
Israel has promised that. “catch him, dead or alive”,
Last week, the IDF released images that appeared to show him fleeing into a terror tunnel with his family.
But Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant now claims that Hamas wants to replace the terror leader as he has been “unreachable for weeks.”
Gallant said the group is working to figure out who would control the Gaza Strip because “Hamas' Gaza operation is unresponsive, without local leadership for dialogue, prompting outside leaders to seek a new internal head.”
A growing number of countries, including Britain and Germany, have warned Israel against any offensive in the city, warning of a “humanitarian catastrophe.”
But Israeli War Cabinet member Benny Gantz has insisted the offensive will continue if the remaining hostages are released.
The former defense minister said: “The world needs to know, and Hamas leaders need to know: if our hostages are not home by Ramadan, the fighting will continue everywhere, including in the Rafah area.”
Ramadan, seen as a fasting month by Muslims worldwide, begins on March 10.
When Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, they killed about 1,200 people and kidnapped 250 others.
More than 100 of these hostages were released during the only brief ceasefire in November, and Israel says more than 130 remain in custody.
Some of the remaining hostages are believed to be dead, including three who were tragically killed by Israel's own soldiers after escaping Hamas terrorists in December.
Last week, two hostages held in Rafah were rescued under cover of night and a heavy barrage of air raids.
The IDF revealed that Fernando Simon Marman, 61, and Norberto Louis Har, 70, were brought home safely after more than four months in captivity by the terror group.
The men, who were held for 128 days, were then taken to a shelter, where they were checked by doctors and airlifted to a hospital in Israel.
In the meantime, Israeli soldiers stormed Gaza's largest hospital last week, amid reports that the bodies of murdered Hamas hostages are being held there.
IDF commanders said they had “credible evidence” that dead civilians were being held in a besieged hospital after being snatched during the October 7 Hamas massacre.
Patients and staff at the hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, were urged to flee before special forces stormed the building.
IDF forces were then forced to search the Nasser Hospital morgue in their grim search for dead hostages.
The daring Israeli commandos also arrested several terror suspects during their raid.
IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said the army had carried out a “precise and limited” operation at the hospital.
The IDF has confirmed the deaths of 31 hostages held by the terror group, including the bodies of two soldiers held since 2014.
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