Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel will intensify its fight against Hamas in the coming days, insisting the military campaign is “not close to being over”. Speaking to his Likud party after visiting troops in Gaza, he described it as “a long war”.
The comments come days after the US secretary of state urged Israel to lower the intensity of its strikes. The war began on 7 October when Hamas launched a deadly attack on southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mainly civilians, and taking about 240 hostages. Israel says 132 remain in Gaza.
Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry reports that more than 20,670 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli bombardments, most of them women and children. On Sunday, an Israeli air strike on the Al-Maghazi refugee camp killed at least 70 people, according to the ministry, with the Palestine Red Crescent Society saying roads were closed, hindering rescue efforts.
Mr Netanyahu was heckled by relatives of hostages during a parliament address, as they demanded immediate release. He replied: “We will not be able to release all the abductees without military pressure … we will not stop fighting.”
Israeli and Arab media report that Egypt has proposed a ceasefire plan involving the phased release of all Israeli hostages and an undetermined number of Palestinian prisoners, ending with a suspension of Israel’s offensive. A previous temporary truce, brokered by Qatar, saw dozens of hostages freed. So far, both sides have resisted calls for a lasting ceasefire.
