JERUSALEM, Israel – Hamas appears to be the only party blocking a ceasefire deal in Gaza that could lead to the release of more hostages held by the terror group, and with the Muslim month of Ramadan fast approaching, many world leaders are worried about violence erupting in Jerusalem.
As the war in Gaza goes on and talks to bring it to a temporary halt continue Hamas is apparently balking at every offer of a deal.
That led President Joe Biden to say, “The hostage deal is in the hands of Hamas right now. Because there has been an offer, a rational offer. The Israelis have agreed to it.”
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken added, “It is on Hamas to make decisions about whether it is prepared to engage in that ceasefire.”
State Department Spokesman Matthew Miller reinforced Blinken’s comment.
“They could end this entire conflict, right? We don’t need a temporary cease-fire. Hamas would lay down their weapons and stop fighting. You could have a permanent ceasefire because Israel would have accomplished its military objectives. With respect to the temporary cease-fire that we are trying to achieve, we very much think that an agreement is reachable,” Miller said.
Hamas says it’s rejecting the idea of a temporary ceasefire because it’s a trick by America and Israel to let the Jewish nation just keep on killing Palestinians in Gaza.
Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan stated, “I think it a political farce for the American administration to support the Israeli opinion that Israel has the right to stop killing for a few weeks and then return to that killing.”
Ramadan begins in a few days and has often been a time of increased Muslim violence. With the ongoing war in Gaza, Hamas, Iran, and its other proxies are openly calling to recreate Hamas’ bloody violence of October 7th, but this time in Jerusalem and on the Temple Mount.
President Biden asserted, “There’s got to be a ceasefire because Ramadan – if we get into a circumstance where this continues through Ramadan in Israel and Jerusalem – it could be very, very dangerous.”
For instance, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is warning Israel to drop plans to restrict access to the Temple Mount for Muslims during Ramadan or it will face real trouble.
“The consequences of taking such a step will, undoubtedly, be very severe,” Erdogan said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to the warnings.
“Israel’s policy has always been and will always be to maintain freedom of worship for all religions,” he said.
Meanwhile, as Iran’s Lebanon proxy Hezbollah resumes firing many more missiles into northern Israel, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned Hezbollah’s increased aggression is “dragging the parties to a dangerous escalation.”
The U.S. is trying to work out a separate peace deal between Israel and Hezbollah, and some Israelis caution America must succeed or fighting could spiral out of control.
Retired IDF General Amir Avivi claimed, “If the U.S. wants to avoid a regional and maybe global war, it needs to show leadership and really, really deter Iran and Hezbollah.”
As for Hamas, a new United Nations report accepts charges the terror group committed widespread rape and sexual violence on October 7th. It took five months, but Israelis are gratified the truth has finally been acknowledged.
Orit Sulitzeanu from the Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel explained, “This is the first time the big wide world is seeing that this is a fact – a horrific, horrible fact.”