A rocket was fired at Israel from Gaza on Thursday, Arutz Sheva reported.
By Rachel Avraham
A rocket was fired at Israel from Gaza on Thursday, Arutz Sheva reported. According to the report, the projectile fell short of Israeli territory and landed inside Gaza. “A few minutes ago, a rocket launch was identified in the Gaza Strip. The rocket fell inside the Gaza Strip,” the IDF stated.
“The IDF is committed to fully implementing the conditions of the agreement for the return of the hostages,” the military stated. At the same time, a 14-year-old boy was reportedly killed in what has been described as a rocket explosion in central Gaza, Arutz Sheva noted.
The rocket fire comes as the cease-fire between Israel and Hamas is on the verge of collapsing. Earlier, Hamas had refused to release additional hostages until further notice. Then, US President Trump threatened that all hell would break loose if all of the hostages are not freed by Saturday at noon. Afterwards, Hamas replied that they will stick to the deal and release the hostages slated to be freed that day, although declining to free all remaining hostages.
This runs contrary to US President Donald Trump’s demand to release “all of the hostages” and some calls by Israeli officials to release all nine remaining hostages who are alive and supposed to be freed throughout the rest of phase one of the deal, the Jerusalem Post noted. The fresh call by President Trump to free all remaining hostages by Saturday at noon comes after everyone witnessed the gaunt condition in which last week’s hostages were released.
In the wake of fears that things could soon escalate, TBN News reported that Israel placed two regiments near the Gaza Strip in preparation for a fresh escalation. At the same time, masses of Egyptian troops have gathered around Israel’s border in preparation for an escalation. Around the same period of time, the Houthis in Yemen have threatened to renew their attacks upon Israel if the cease-fire collapses.
In the wake of these developments, there is also the bigger concern about continued Hamas rule in Gaza in Washington, DC. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently stated, “the bigger point here is, yeah, I mean, you’re going to – part of the challenge here is that Hamas, we know, continues to use networks to smuggle in weaponry and aid for themselves to reconstitute themselves. Israel can’t allow that to happen. You can’t allow them, Hamas, to use the ceasefire to sort of rebuild itself and recover strength. So it’s a ceasefire but it’s not a stupid ceasefire. You can’t have it as an opportunity for them to rebuild themselves and come back and do the same thing all over again. Hamas exists with a very clear purpose. That is the destruction of the Jewish state.”
Some in the Arab world in the wake of fresh sentiments coming out of Washington, DC really want Hamas to relinquish power. According to MEMRI, “Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit called on Hamas to relinquish power in Gaza. He stated that the purpose of Trump’s declaration of his plan for Gaza was to prompt the Arabs to present an alternative proposal, and that the Arab summit scheduled for the end of this month will indeed discuss such a proposal, which will be acceptable to all the Palestinians and to the Arabs and the international community. He clarified that the Arab League maintains ties only with the Palestinian Authority and not with Hamas, and proposed that Hamas should relinquish power if the Palestinian interest requires this.”
MEMRI reported that in response to Gheit’s statements, senior journalist Tariq Al-Homayed published an article in the London-based Saudi daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat titled “Hamas Must Relinquish Power,” in which he supported Gheit’s position: “He called to recognize the facts and understand that the Palestinian interest indeed requires Hamas to relinquish power, for this would be a rational alternative to Trump’s plan for Gaza. It will also prevent jeopardizing the security of Egypt and Jordan, prevent the danger of another war on Gaza with America’s blessing and allow the rebuilding of Gaza.”
As Al Homayad wrote, “There was a war. Its outcome is undeniable – regardless of Hamas or Iran’s claims of a false victory. Iran, after all, has agreed to a ceasefire in Lebanon because it recognizes that Hezbollah has been defeated, and it is now trying to preserve what remains of Hezbollah. Gaza and its people also deserve such pragmatism and acknowledgment of facts. Another undeniable fact (and everyone understands this, whatever they say in public) is that there will be no reconstruction or funding as long as Hamas remains in power. Who would even be willing to rebuild a territory that might soon face its sixth war before clearing the rubble? Accordingly, conducting the same failed experiments again is not an option. The reality is clear, the dangers are imminent, and they must be confronted with rationality, not slogans or emotions. Hamas must come to terms with this.”
