The Australian/Staff Writers
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to continue the war in Gaza despite mounting international pressure to wrap up the conflict, now stretching into its 100th day, and persistent demands at home for him to give priority to the return of hostages still held by Hamas.
“Nobody will stop us — not The Hague, not the axis of evil and not anybody else,” he said from the Israeli military headquarters in Tel Aviv on Saturday night, referencing an alliance of Iran-backed armed groups in the region and a United Nations court case brought by South Africa accusing Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians.
“We will not stop until we achieve victory,” said Netanyahu.
Israel’s leadership appears laser-focused on destroying Hamas and its military capabilities, despite U.S. efforts to get Israel to minimize civilian casualties in the strip. Since Oct. 7, when Hamas-led militants killed about 1,200 people in a surprise attack and kidnapped over 200 others, according to Israeli officials, more than 23,000 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, Palestinian authorities say, a number that doesn’t distinguish combatants from civilians.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken tried to cool tensions in the region with a weeklong tour earlier this month. But Netanyahu’s speech signaled Israel’s intent to move ahead with a war that it believes is one of self-defense. Last week, Israel also denounced South Africa’s move to bring a genocide case, telling the International Court of Justice that it was outrageous to liken its military response to the Hamas attacks to Nazi Germany’s systematic extermination of six million Jews during the Holocaust.
Netanyahu faces substantial international pressure in how he conducts the war in Gaza. Washington has the option of signaling its displeasure by not resupplying Israel with certain weapons on a temporary basis, according to Nimrod Novik, a fellow at the Israel Policy Forum, a think tank that advocates for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“There are several clocks ticking,” he said. And “the clock of American patience is running out and might manifest itself.” As the war reached 100 days on Sunday, intense fighting unfolded across the Gaza Strip, with the Israeli military striking Maghazi in the central part as well as Beit Lahia in the north and Khan Younis in the south, according to the Israeli military.
The fighting resulted in the death of dozens of Palestinians, the Palestinian Authority’s official WAFA news agency reported on Sunday. About 50 people were pulled out from the rubble after a residential building was damaged in Gaza City, while Israeli airstrikes targeting homes in Khan Younis and Rafah killed more than 30 and at least 20 people, respectively, it said.
Health authorities in Gaza estimated that 135 people died within 24 hours on Saturday, while it counted another 125 deaths on Sunday.
The war has damaged more than a quarter of a million housing units in Gaza and destroyed more than 40% of the strip’s infrastructure including roads, according to Palestinian authorities; about 1.8 million Palestinians in Gaza are homeless.
All of Gaza’s 2.2 million people are likely to suffer “crisis or worse” levels of hunger by early February, the United Nations has warned, representing the highest share of people facing acute food insecurity for any area of the world, according to historic U.N. analysis. A quarter of the population already suffers from famine, it estimates.
Meanwhile, Israel’s military said it also struck Hezbollah infrastructure and military targets in Lebanon, after missiles from there struck communities in northern Israel on Sunday, killing one soldier, according to the Israeli military. Three militants infiltrating from Lebanon were killed, and five Israeli soldiers were injured in the process, according to the Israeli military.
In Tel Aviv, Israeli families marked 100 days that their loved ones were still being held by Hamas in Gaza. Thousands of their supporters rallied on Saturday, the eve of the anniversary, in one of their largest gatherings since the war broke out.
On Sunday, they continued a 24-hour vigil in a public square, featuring performances and speeches from, among others, Israeli hostages who had been released during a November cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas. Many of the families say the government has fallen woefully short in trying to bring back its citizens, especially when compared with its attempts to destroy Hamas.
French President Emmanuel Macron threw in his support by delivering a video speech to the families on Saturday, promising not to abandon hostages, including French citizens. U.S. Ambassador to Israel Jacob J. Lew said the American government “is not sparing any effort” to get hostages home and would continue to try for a breakthrough by working with Israel, Qatar and Egypt.
Dow Jones