GAZA WAR: Hamas Bets on Ramadan to Help It Survive Israel’s Assault.
Hamas’s chief in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, is also calculating that Ramadan, which begins with the new-moon sighting expected Monday or Tuesday, could spark violence near religious sites in Jerusalem, expanding the conflict beyond Gaza and drawing Iran and Hezbollah deeper and more directly into his war against Israel, according to political analysts.
Israel has warned that unless a deal is reached by Ramadan to release hostages and pause the fighting, its military will push ahead with plans to attack Hamas in its last stronghold of Rafah on Gaza’s southern border, where an estimated 1.5 million displaced Palestinians are sheltering.
Cease-fire talks are expected to resume Sunday. But their halting progress is increasing the likelihood of an Israeli assault against Hamas in Rafah, the last major city in Gaza that Israeli forces haven’t taken.
“Hamas thinks the month of Ramadan will serve its interests,” said Mkhaimar Abusada, a political scientist at Al-Azhar University in Gaza who is now based in Cairo. Hamas leaders’ belief that the holy month will increase international pressure on Israel to end the war is “why they keep saying they are in no rush” to agree to a cease-fire, he said.
Joe Biden agrees that a ceasefire — which he is pushing — helps Hamas:
Biden makes the blunder of answering whether and why Hamas would want a ceasefire.
He then notices his terrible blunder in saying the truth, and goes off on a tangent. pic.twitter.com/ypqX7H8D6o
— David Shor (@DYShor) March 10, 2024
Biden clearly did not mean to admit the truth but that’s OK because the press will cover for him.