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Israeli Defense Minister Warns Terrorists Not to Make Ramadan a ‘Month of Jihad’ Amid Gaza War
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant attends a joint press conference with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin at Israel’s Ministry of Defense in Tel Aviv, Israel, Dec. 18, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Violeta Santos Moura
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant wished Muslim worshipers a peaceful Ramadan, while issuing a stern warning to those looking to use the Muslim holy month to perpetrate terrorism amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
Beginning in Arabic, Gallant wished the Muslim community a blessed Ramadan and year ahead in a statement. He then switched to Hebrew, saying “We are aware that the month of Ramadan may be a month of jihad. We tell everyone who is thinking of trying us: We are ready; don’t make mistakes. I want to bless you and say to everyone, the State of Israel respects freedom of religion, at Al-Aqsa [known to Jews as the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem] and all holy sites.”
The Muslim holy month of Ramadan began on Sunday evening, following an announcement by Saudi Arabia, the custodian of Islam’s holiest sites. With the ushering in of the month of daily fasting, the Middle East braced for what has been historically a tense time between Israelis and Palestinians.
In Israel, many people refer to Ramadan as “Ramadam,” with the “m” allowing the end of the word to read “dam,” which means blood in Hebrew, to signify the history of terrorism during the month.
This year in particular, with the war raging in Gaza, onlookers abroad, including US President Joe Biden, have warned about the dangers of the conflict continuing into Ramadan, with efforts to secure a ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages being held in Gaza before the holiday falling short.
Israeli officials pointed the finger at Hamas, with Israel’s intelligence agency Mossad releasing a statement last week saying, “At this stage, Hamas is fortifying its position that it is not interested in the deal and strives to burn the region during Ramadan at the expense of the Palestinian residents of the Gaza Strip.”
Despite the war, Muslim worship at the Temple Mount is set to go uninterrupted. However, thousands of police officers are stationed throughout Jerusalem, with the highest concentration in the Old City. Additionally, a special police station will be set up close to the Temple Mount, where police teams, in consultation with Israel’s security establishment and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, will discuss daily if anything needs to change.
Biden issued a statement to Muslims on Sunday in which he discussed the war in Gaza, saying Ramadan “comes at a moment of immense pain. The war in Gaza has inflicted terrible suffering on the Palestinian people. More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed, most of them civilians, including thousands of children.”
Hamas-controlled health authorities in Gaza say over 30,000 people have died during Israel’s military offensive.
In October, Biden expressed doubt about the accuracy of Hamas’ casualty statistics, which do not distinguish between terrorist combatants and civilians. In recent weeks, however, Biden has made an apparent 180, citing them in his State of the Union address last week.
A recent report from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy found that Hamas’ statistics are “inconsistent, imprecise, and systematically manipulated to downplay the number of men and militants killed.”
Additionally, a professor of statistics and data science at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania found a significant number of anomalies and almost impossible trends within the data released by the terror group, further throwing its credibility into question.
Biden also mentioned in his Ramadan statement that he hoped for a ceasefire in Gaza.
“The United States will continue working non-stop to establish an immediate and sustained ceasefire for at least six weeks as part of a deal that releases hostages,” he said.
Hamas, which rules Gaza, murdered 1,200 people and kidnapped 253 others as hostages during its Oct. 7 invasion of Israel, launching the current war.
The post Israeli Defense Minister Warns Terrorists Not to Make Ramadan a ‘Month of Jihad’ Amid Gaza War first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.