A Huge Mistake
Defense Minister Katz Vows "Heavy Price" After Attack, Hamas Says: "It Wasn't Us!"
Defense Minister Katz vows harsh response after Rafah incident, while Hamas's Al-Qassam Brigades denies responsibility and reaffirms commitment to ceasefire agreement.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz issued a stern warning to Hamas today, vowing a harsh military response after an attack targeted Israeli troops in Rafah, located in the southern Gaza Strip. Katz declared that the terror group would quickly regret any attempt to harm Israeli forces.
"Hamas will learn today the hard way that the IDF is determined to protect its soldiers and to prevent any harm to them," Katz stated following the incident this morning in Rafah.
In response, the Defense Minister confirmed he has "instructed the IDF to act forcefully against Hamas terror targets in Gaza." A military source indicated that more than 20 targets have been struck in the Gaza Strip so far since the morning attack.
Katz emphasized that any violation of the standing ceasefire would be met with overwhelming force, and that the severity of the reaction would escalate if necessary.
"Hamas will pay a heavy price for any shooting and violation of the ceasefire, and if the message is not understood, the intensity of the responses will increase," he warned.
Hamas Denies Involvement in Rafah
The stern warning from Minister Katz was immediately followed by a denial of responsibility from Hamas's Al-Qassam Brigades, which issued a statement disclaiming any knowledge of or connection to the alleged clash.
The Al-Qassam statement affirmed a "full commitment to carry out everything that was agreed, first and foremost the ceasefire across all areas of the Gaza Strip."
Regarding the Rafah area, the group stated: “We have no knowledge of any incidents or clashes taking place in the Rafah area, which is a red zone under the occupier’s control.”
Al-Qassam further claimed that communication with its remaining fighters in that specific sector was cut off when the war resumed in March of this year.
“Contact with the remaining groups of ours there has been cut off since the war resumed in March of this year, and we have no information on whether they have been killed or are still alive since that date. Accordingly, we have no connection to any events occurring in those areas and we cannot communicate with any of our fighters there if any of them remain alive.”