Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his country has “no choice,” but he may continue his fight in Gaza. He also added that the war with the enclave will only end if three objectives are realized.
The Israeli Prime Minister says the fight in Gaza is conditioned on successful achievement of three goals. Destroy Hamas, release all hostages, and ensure that the enclave does not pose a threat to Israel in the future.
According to Gaza’s health ministry, his comments came after at least 92 Palestinians were killed and more than 200 were injured in the two days. Israeli forces are increasing their attacks, putting pressure on Hamas to release hostages and disarm them.
Netanyahu is under pressure at home not only by hostage families and their supporters, but also by reserves and retired Israeli soldiers who question the continued war after Israel smashed a ceasefire last month.
In his statement, he argued that Hamas had rejected Israel’s latest proposal to release half of the hostages for a continued ceasefire.
Since Israel ended a ceasefire mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States on March 18, Israeli attacks have crossed Gaza for the lives of nearly 1,800 people and injured another 4,700.
The death toll in the Gaza Strip rose to 51,157, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health, which is run by Hamas. The United Nations says women and children accounted for more than two-thirds of all deaths they could verify.
In northern Gaza, Israeli forces attacked civilian areas of Beitrahia town, killing at least four people.
In central Gaza, two Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks on the Nusayrat refugee camp.
Israeli airstrikes have struck a tent protecting Palestinians, killing at least 10 people in the southern city of Khan Eunice.
Meanwhile, the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) said in a statement that one of its soldiers was killed and three others were seriously injured in Beit Hanong, the northern Gaza Strip on Saturday.
According to the statement, the slain soldier was G’Haleb Sliman Alnasasra, a 35-year-old tracker from Rahat, Bedouin city, southern Israel.
He was the first Israeli soldier to be killed in Gaza since the resumption of Israeli military operations in Gaza last month.
Israel has pledged to intensify attacks across Gaza and occupy a large “security zone” in a small coastal strip of over 2 million people indefinitely. Hamas hopes Israeli forces will withdraw from their territory.
Israel has also been blocking Gaza for the past six weeks, again banning food and other goods from entering.
This week, aid groups issued an alarm, saying thousands of children have become malnourished and most people have barely eaten one meal a day as stocks drop.
Dr. Hannan Balky, director of the World Health Organization’s Eastern Mediterranean office, urged Israel’s new US ambassador, Mike Huckabee, to push the country to lift the Gaza blockade so that medicines and other aids can enter.
The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people, mainly civilians, who adducted 251 people.
Most hostages have been released on ceasefire contracts or other transactions. Hamas currently has 59 hostages, of which 24 are believed to be still alive.
