By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
JERUSALEM/GAZA (Worthy News) – Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will “go to the end, to victory” despite “international pressures” to halt the military operation and a mounting death toll among Israeli troops.
“We are continuing until the end, there is no question,” Netanyahu said. “I say this even given the great pain and the international pressure. Nothing will stop us; we will continue until the end, until victory, nothing less.”
Netanyahu told military commanders to carry on in Gaza with their pursuit of Hamas, which he has condemned as a Palestinian Islamist “terrorist organization.”
He spoke after President Joe Biden said “indiscriminate bombing” is causing Israel to lose international support − in a rare sign of discord between the allies.
While the U.S. vetoed an immediate ceasefire resolution by the United Nations Security Council, a similar non-binding resolution passed this week in the U.N. General Assembly.
The Biden administration also delayed the sale of more than 20,000 U.S.-made rifles to Israel over concerns about “attacks by Israeli settlers” on Palestinians in the West Bank, U.S. sources say.
DEADLY DAY
Netanyahu’s defiant comments were seen as an attempt to boost confidence as Israel’s military suffered one of its deadliest days in the two-month-old Gaza war on Tuesday, with 10 soldiers killed, bringing the toll in Gaza to 115.
The death toll is almost double the number killed during clashes in the territory nine years ago. Hundreds more Israeli security forces, including soldiers and police, have been killed outside the Gaza Strip since the war began on October 7.
Yet polls in recent weeks show overwhelming backing for the war in Israel despite the rising human costs. Israelis view the war as a fight for the very existence of the Jewish nation, regardless of fading global sympathy reflected in Tuesday’s U.N. resolution.
However, family members of Israeli hostages held in Gaza say they are “shocked” by a report that Israel’s war cabinet decided against sending the head of secret service Mossad to Qatar for talks on a new hostage deal. They are demanding an “immediate explanation” from Israeli Netanyahu as Mossad chief David Barnea helped negotiate last month’s hostage-release deal.
He had reportedly offered to go to Qatar again, but the war cabinet decided against sending him amid cabinet disagreements over efforts being made on talks towards a new agreement.
Families and supporters of Israeli hostages held by Hamas rallied in Tel Aviv last week in support of their release.
PALESTINIANS SUFFERING
Besides hostages, Palestinians are suffering under the retaliatory Israeli strikes that Israel says are aimed at destroying Hamas.
An overnight storm worsened the conditions for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who have fled their homes, aid workers said.
Many were in makeshift shelters or sleeping rough, according to witnesses.
Israel says the human suffering is caused by Hamas, which broke through Israel’s heavily guarded perimeter on October 7, killing 1,200 people and taking 240 hostages – some of whom were released during a brief truce.
The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says 18,600 people have been killed and 50,000 injured in the enclave since the start of the war, although those figures have been difficult to verify.
Copyright 1999-2024 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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