Gallant: Hamas and Iran Plotting ‘Second Phase of October 7’ during Ramadan

February 28, 2024

by: Akiva van Koningsveld ~ JNS

Wednesday, 28 February 2024 | Iran-backed terror groups are plotting to turn the Islamic holy month of Ramadan [one of the Five Pillars of Islam when stringent disciplines are observed] into the “second phase of October 7” and set the Middle East on fire, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant charged on Tuesday.

“The main goal of Hamas is to take Ramadan, with an emphasis on the Temple Mount and Jerusalem, and turn it into the second phase of their plan that began on October 7. This is the main goal of Hamas, and it is being amplified by Iran and Hezbollah,” Gallant said following a situational assessment at the Israel Defense Forces’ [IDF] Central Command, which is responsible for Judea and Samaria.

“We cannot let them have this, and that means we need to do everything we can to bring calm to the area,” Gallant continued.

“We must not give Hamas what it failed to achieve during the beginning of the war and [let it achieve] ‘unity of the battlefields,’” he added, in reference to the terror group’s attempts to spark a multi-front war.

The violence has continued to escalate in the months since Hamas started a war with its murderous rampage across the northwestern Negev on October 7. A total of 41 Israeli airstrikes have been carried out in Judea and Samaria since the start of the war, as well as more than 200 counterterror operations in Palestinian towns.

Since October 7, around 3,250 Palestinian terror suspects have been captured in arrest raids throughout Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley, including more than 1,350 who are associated with Hamas, the IDF said Tuesday.

In the Gaza Strip, IDF forces are closing in on the position of Hamas terror leader Yahya Sinwar, the Washington Post reported on Tuesday, citing current and former Israeli officials familiar with the intelligence.

Sinwar is believed to be hiding in the vast tunnel systems underneath the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis, where he has reportedly surrounded himself with a large number of living hostages, the officials confirmed.

“It’s not about locating him, it’s about doing something” without risking the lives of the hostages, one senior Israeli official told the newspaper.

However, the operation in Gaza cannot conclude until Sinwar is captured, killed or removed from power, officials stressed to the Washington Post.

Last month, the army launched a massive assault in Khan Yunis, killing scores of terrorist operatives, including company commanders. During previous operations in Khan Yunis that took place in the first weeks of the Gaza offensive, more than 300 tunnels had already been located.

Soldiers of the Maglan and Egoz commando units continue to operate in the western part of the city, the IDF revealed on Tuesday, noting that troops are killing and arresting “dozens” of Hamas terrorists every day.

In Khan Yunis, troops found loaded weapons under beds in civilian homes, as well as rockets, grenades, launchers, explosive belts, shoulder missiles and other terror equipment.

Hamas started the war on October 7 when it led a mass attack on the northwestern Negev, killing 1,200 people, wounding thousands more and kidnapping 253. Israel conducted an aerial campaign against Hamas in the weeks after the massacre, which paved the way for the ground offensive that started on October 27.

Posted on February 28, 2024

Source: (Excerpt of an article originally published by the Jewish News Syndicate on February 27, 2024. Time-related language has been modified to reflect our republication today. See original article at this link.)

Photo Credit: IDF/jns.org