Israel on Wednesday (Dec 13) declared that it would continue its war against Hamas in Gaza “with or without international support”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also reiterated that “nothing could stop” his country from continuing the war until it achieves victory against the Palestinian militant group.
“We will continue until the end. There is no question at all. I say this in light of great pain, but also in light of international pressure. Nothing will stop us. We are going until the end, until victory, nothing less than that,” Netanyahu said in a video statement released by his office.
While talking to the soldiers over the radio, Netanyahu said, “I want you to pass this along to the last of the soldiers – we’re continuing until the end, until victory, until Hamas is annihilated, let there be no doubt about this. This is important, it is a message I want to convey to each and every soldier over there.”
Israel announced its worst combat casualties for more than a month on Wednesday after an ambush in the ruins of Gaza City and fronted growing diplomatic seclusion as civilian deaths ascended and a humanitarian catastrophe deepened.
In a worst one-day loss, Tel Aviv said that 10 of its soldiers lost their lives in the intense fighting in the past 24 hours including a full colonel commanding a forward base and a lieutenant colonel commanding a regiment.
Hamas said the incident showed that Israeli forces could never subdue Gaza: “The longer you stay there, the greater the bill of your deaths and losses will be, and you will emerge from it carrying the tail of disappointment and loss, God willing.”
The intense fighting between the two warring sides continued a day after the United Nations demanded an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.
Israel also came under mounting pressure from its key backer United States when President Joe Biden said Tel Aviv’s “indiscriminate” bombing of civilians was costing international support.
Biden meets families of US hostages
Meanwhile, Biden on Wednesday met the families of the people held hostage by Hamas in Gaza.
According to the officials, the gathering took place in the White House where Secretary of State Antony Blinken was also present.
Approximately eight US hostages are being held in Gaza, according to the Biden administration.
As per the Israeli officials, after the swap that happened during the truce between both sides, nearly 135 hostages are still held captive in Gaza.
(With inputs from agencies)
Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing developments on the Israel-Palestine conflict after the Hamas attacks. However, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.
