Muslim Brotherhood terror group Hamas has said that it would expand its rocket range to again attack Tel Aviv should Israel refuse to comply with its demand to remove the Gaza blockade.
Israel moved forward with the blockade in 2007, hoping to stop foreign entities from aiding and abetting Hamas’s terror and rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip.
“The Palestinian delegation to the talks has notified the Egyptian mediators that in the event Israel continues with its rejectionist stance, it will leave Cairo [on Sunday], which would then enable the factions on the ground to expand its rocket range to include Tel Aviv,” said a Hamas official to Lebanese Hezbollah-friendly paper Al-Akhbar.
In a separate interview with Watan TV, another Hamas official said, “If our demands are not met by Sunday, we will attack Tel Aviv.”
Israeli Communications Minister Gilad Erdan, a member of the security cabinet that makes decisions regarding military operations, told Israel’s Channel 2 news that “all options are on the table” should Hamas continue indiscriminate and unprovoked rocket fire into Israel. “It’s multiple attempted murders each day,” he said.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest weighed in on Hamas’s continued rocket fire into Israel. He stated that the White House “did not believe it was appropriate for Hamas to restore rocket fire.”
Israeli officials are considering whether or not to attend long-term ceasefire talks in Cairo on Sunday. Israel is currently maintaining the position that they will not negotiate a truce with Hamas while the terror group’s rocket salvos continue to rain down on its cities.
According to The Times of Israel, unconfirmed reports from Egyptian media have stated that Israel is negotiating for the remains of the bodies of two IDF soldiers: Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin. Both were killed in battle, but their bodies were taken into Gaza by Hamas terrorists shortly thereafter. A Turkish source claimed that Israel was prepared to exchange 25 prisoners for the bodies of the two soldiers.
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