Netanyahu reaffirmed Israel’s determination to continue its genocidal military offence in Gaza ‘until Hamas is completely defeated.‘
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly warned on Tuesday that the ongoing war in Gaza may rage on until 2025, a war that has in three months claimed the lives of more than 24,448 Palestinians in Gaza.
The warning was delivered during a meeting with Israeli leaders from settlements and kibbutzes near Gaza at the southern command headquarters in Beersheba.
Netanyahu reaffirmed Israel’s determination to continue its relentless military offence in Gaza — which began on October 7 — until Hamas is completely defeated.
The ongoing Israeli assaults have led to the displacement of almost all of Gaza’s residents, exacerbating the risk of famine and disease for survivors.
Israel’s restriction on aid entry and the evacuation of those requiring urgent medical attention have aggravated the crisis in the Strip.
Israel has dropped almost 30,000 bombs and shells on Gaza in just 100 days, eight times more than the U.S. aimed at Iraq in six years of war, according to diplomat and UN-accredited human rights activist Mohamad Safa.
United National rights experts say, “Every single person in Gaza is hungry,” as Israel continues to bomb, besiege, and block aid to the territory.
A World Health Organization official on Wednesday described the remaining hospitals in the Strip as being in dire conditions, as patients are “waiting to die” due to extreme shortages of staff and supplies.
Emergency medical team coordinator Sean Casey said that during some five weeks he spent in the war-torn Palestinian territory, he saw hospital patients “every day with severe burns, with open fractures waiting hours or days” for treatment.
“They would often ask me for food or water, that demonstrates the level of desperation that we see,” Casey told reporters at UN headquarters in New York.
Separately, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Netanyahu that there is no military solution to Hamas in Gaza on Wednesday as Washington’s frustration towards the Israeli premier mounts, NBC reported, citing anonymous officials.
The report detailed the Joe Biden administration’s increased pressure on Netanyahu over his rejection of a post-war Gaza proposal presented by the U.S. last week, as the war entered its 100th day.
Blinken’s proposal was the result of Blinken’s diplomatic tour between January 4 and 11 — which included regional countries Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Egypt.
The proposal included “a commitment” from four Arab leaders and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, known as MbS, over Gaza’s reconstruction and a new Palestinian government in the Strip, officials told NBC.
Despite Israel citing its goal as eliminating Hamas in Gaza to justify its war, the occupation has targeted civilian structures, while 70% of those killed have been women and children.
