Rafah: Israel sets March deadline—the month of Ramzan

Israel has set a deadline for the start of its planned military operation in Rafah, despite international calls to avoid a ground offensive in the southern Gazan city.

"The world must know, and Hamas leaders must know — if by Ramadan our hostages are not home, the fighting will continue everywhere, including the Rafah area," opposition politician Benny Gantz, who has taken a post in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's war cabinet, told a conference of Jewish American leaders.

Ramadan, the Islamic holy month, is expected to begin on 10 March.

More than 200 people were taken hostage on 7 October in attacks on Israel led by Hamas — designated a terrorist organization by the US, EU and Israel, among others. Around 130 are believed to still be in Gaza.

More than a million Palestinians have fled to Rafah since Israel launched an air and ground assault elsewhere in the territory. Many of those displaced are living in crowded shelters and tent camps in the city on the border with Egypt.

Meanwhile, Netanyahu brushed off growing calls to halt the military offensive, vowing to "finish the job."

The Health Ministry in Hamas-controlled Gaza said on Sunday (18 February) that 127 people died in 24 hours as Israel's military pressed its offensive in the territory. The ministry does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.