‘Nothing will stop us,’ Netanyahu says – DW – 12/14/2023

Leading Israeli officials have said “international pressures” will not halt their military campaign against Hamas in Gaza. 

“We’re continuing until the end, until victory, until Hamas is annihilated,” Netanyahu told soldiers over the radio after the Israel Defense Force military reported 10 deaths in the space of 24 hours, its worst losses in a day since late October. 

“I say this in the face of great pain but also in the face of international pressures. Nothing will stop us,” the Israeli prime minister said. 

This follows the overwhelming, but nonbinding, UN General Assembly vote calling for a humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza, which only 10 countries opposed. 

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen also said on Wednesday that the country “would continue the war against Hamas with or without international support.” 

“A cease-fire at the current stage is a gift to the terrorist organization Hamas, and will allow it to return and threaten the residents of Israel,” Cohen told a visiting diplomat, as quoted by his ministry. 

Although Israel’s closest ally, the United States, has continued to vote in its defense at the UN, even Biden administration officials have repeatedly and publicly urged Israel to do more to limit civilian casualties. Biden warned on Tuesday that the “indiscriminate bombing” of Gaza was causing Israel to lose international support.

dh, msh/wd (Reuters, AFP, AP, dpa)