The Israeli Minister of Defense, Israel Katzthreatened this Wednesday to attack the Gaza Strip “with a strength not seen (…) in a long time” if the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas does not release the Israeli hostages in the enclave or stop launching rockets against Israel, in statements reported by local media.
Around the same time, the Israeli Army’s Arabic-speaking spokesman, Avichay Adraeealerted residents of several areas of the town of Jabalia, in the hard-hit north of Gaza, to leave the area before the forces launched new attacks.
Last night, at the stroke of twelve, militants from the Islamist group fired two rockets at Israel, one of which was intercepted while the other fell in a depopulated area, causing no injuries.
The launches from Loop against Israeli communities are relatively infrequent, although in the last week several have occurred from the north of the enclave, despite the tough offensive that Israeli troops have maintained in the area since the beginning of October.
Israel “will intensify its activities against terrorist hideouts in Gaza until the release of the hostages and the elimination of Hamas”Katz said during a visit to the Israeli town of Netivot, in the south of the country.
His statements come at a time of stagnation in negotiations for a ceasefire in the enclave that would allow the release of Israeli hostages who are still held captive in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons.
This Wednesday, a source close to the talks told EFE that the negotiations have reached “a dead end” over the difficulties in reaching an agreement on the number of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners to be released.
Therefore, according to the source, it is difficult to reach an agreement before the inauguration, on January 20, of the new US president, Donald Trump, who has made it clear that he wants an agreement to release the hostages before taking office. .
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