Hamas responded that it has not contacted its units in Rafah, under Israeli control, for months and reiterated its “total” commitment to the cessation of hostilities.
MADRID, Oct. 19 (EUROPA PRESS).- The Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahuordered the israeli army to act “with force” in the Gaza Strip after accusing the militias of the Islamist movement Hamas of having violated the ceasefire in force after attacking a military unit in the city of Rafain the south of the enclave.
After informing his intentions to United States (EU)he army unleashed around twenty attacks in Gaza after the incident that occurred this morning. Hamas He assured that he had nothing to do with it and reiterated his commitment to the cessation of hostilities, whose stability is going through a critical moment right now.
The Israeli army denounced that the Palestinian assault was directed against an engineering unit and an infantry reinforcement, first with the impact of an anti-tank missile against a military excavator and then with shots against support units. There is no record of victims, at the moment.
The incident forced Netanyahu to call an emergency meeting of his security leadership, starting with Defense Minister Israel Katz, to evaluate the response to the attack, finally specified in a message from the Prime Minister’s Office published on his X account.
“Following the violation of the ceasefire by Hamas, Prime Minister Netanyahu has again held consultations with the Ministry of Defense and the heads of the security apparatus, to whom he has instructed to act forcefully against terrorist targets in the Gaza Strip,” the message reads.
In a later comment, military sources confirmed to the newspaper Times of Israel who have already attacked more than 20 targets in Gaza after the Rafah incident, in the most serious crisis of the ceasefire since its declaration on October 11. United States security sources told the portal Axios that the Israeli army informed Washington in advance of the resumption of bombings on Gaza.
For now, the Palestinian news agency Safa reports at least five dead in an Israeli attack on a cafeteria in the city of Deir al Balá, in the center of the Gaza Strip. Before the Rafah incident, Palestinian sources reported two deaths in Jabalia, which the Israeli army described as suspected Hamas militiamen who had crossed the yellow line that delimits Israeli positions after the ceasefire that began last week.
Hamas responds that it is not aware of operations in Rafah
Although at first Hamas sources told the newspaper Palestinerelated to the Islamist movement, that the incident seemed to be an attack against a militia financed by Israel and that it was not directed at the Israeli military, a second statement from the armed wing of the movement, the Ezzeldin al Qassam Brigades, specified that for now it is impossible to know what has happened given that contacts with its units in Rafá have been broken since the entry of the Israeli army into the city, in May 2024.
“We affirm our full commitment to the implementation of everything agreed upon, in particular the ceasefire throughout the Gaza Strip. We are not aware of any incident or confrontation in the Rafah area,” they said in a statement published on Palestine.
The group maintained that the site where the incident took place “is a red zone under occupation control, and contact with our remaining groups there has been cut off since the war resumed in March this year,” it explained.
“We have no information on whether they were martyred or are still alive since that date. Therefore, we have no connection with any events that occurred in those areas and we cannot communicate with any of our fighters there if any of them are still alive,” he said.
Katz promises that “Hamas will learn the hard way”
Israel’s Defense Minister, Israel Katz, joined Netanyahu’s message in an even more forceful tone: “Hamas is going to learn the hard way today that Israel is determined to protect its soldiers” and confirmed that he gave the direct order to act “strongly” against “Hamas terrorist targets” in Gaza.
“Hamas will pay a high price for any shooting, for any violation of the ceasefire, and if it does not get the message, we will increase the intensity of our response,” he warned.