Israel's Rafah deadline raises stakes as Ramadan approaches - BBC News

Indirect talks between Israel and Hamas have not brought the war to an end - and a pivotal few weeks looms.

3 days agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingRelated TopicsIsrael-Gaza warImage source, EPAImage caption, There are more than one million Palestinians crammed into Rafah, a city in southern GazaBy Lyse DoucetChief international correspondentIsrael's sudden threat to unleash its controversial ground operation in the southern Gazan town of Rafah unless all hostages are freed by 10 March has ratcheted up the pressure on the tortuous talks to secure an elusive agreement.

Even before Benny Gantz, a leading member of Israel's war cabinet, threw down the gauntlet, Arab leaders were already anxiously focused on this start of the Islamic holy month - a time of communal fasting and prayer which can intensify a prevailing mood.

"Ramadan is ahead of us and if the situation in Rafah evolves, it will be a very, very dangerous time in the region," warned Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani at the annual Munich Security Conference over the weekend.

The palpable apprehension by an Arab leader directly involved in the protracted negotiations to swap Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, and reach a truce in this grievous war, is being forcefully echoed by other Arab officials.

Their principal preoccupation is the highly combustible situation in the occupied West Bank, where tensions and violence have been steadily escalating.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68341694

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