‘We will not relent!’ Netanyahu vows to ‘destroy’ Hamas as Israel renews Gaza strikes after botched hostages deal
Benjamin Netanyahu has announced a renewal of strikes on Gaza as he vowed to destroy Hamas.
The Israeli Prime Minister defended the resumption of airstrikes in the heavily bombarded enclave, saying that negotiations on restoring the ceasefire would continue “only under fire.”
The move breaking the ceasefire was met with condemnation from charities and other countries in the region, including Turkey and the UAE.
Hamas, which still holds 59 of the 250 or so hostages Israel says the group seized in its October 7, 2023 attack, accused Israel of jeopardising efforts by mediators to negotiate a permanent deal to end the fighting, but the group made no threat of retaliation.
Gaza hospitals already reeling from weeks of an aid blockade, medics and health authorities said, as ambulances ferried in hundreds of badly injured survivors.
Mohammad Qishta, a Medicins Sans Frontieres emergency doctor working at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, told reporters: “We received no less than 400 cases in less than two hours.
“There were some serious cases such as burns…third degree burns on the face, amputations, wounds on the head, wounds on the chest.”
Netanyahu said military pressure on Hamas was a “critical condition” for securing the release of hostages held by the militant Islamist group, adding: “This is just the beginning.”
UN Under-Secretary-General Tom Fletcher spoke at a Security Council briefing after Palestinian health authorities said Israeli airstrikes pounded Gaza, killing more than 400 people.
Fletcher said: “Overnight our worst fears materialized. Airstrikes resumed across the entire Gaza Strip. Unconfirmed reports of hundreds of people killed…once again, the people of Gaza are living in abject fear.”
“Humanitarian workers remain on the ground…ready to provide life-saving support to survivors and to carry out humanitarian operations…We must be allowed to do so.”
It comes as Israel has halted aid deliveries into Gaza for more than two weeks, exacerbating a humanitarian crisis.
However, Dorothy Shea, acting US ambassador to the United Nations, said the blame for the resumption of Gaza hostilities “lies solely with Hamas” and expressed support for Israel in its next steps.
The war erupted after Hamas-led gunmen attacked Israel, killing some 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies.
The Israeli campaign in Gaza has killed more than 48,000 people, say Palestinian health authorities.