God help all of us – Peter
Israel has refused to rule out a second strike to target Hamas officials it may have missed the first time, Binyamin Netanyahu said, despite American assurances to its ally Qatar that it would not happen again.
The prime minister said Israel had a “principle” to target the perpetrators of terrorism wherever they happened to be in the world, and he was not about to change that. “In other cases, the terrorists happened to be on that soil, and we acted, which is what democracies do,” Netanyahu said at a joint press conference in Jerusalem with Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state. “So this is a principle we established. It’s a principle we follow. It hasn’t changed.”
Mr Netanyahu spoke as the Israeli air force pounded Gaza City with bombs, artillery and drones ahead of an imminent ground incursion.
Channel 12 TV reports that 300,000 residents had left Gaza City, with a security source telling the broadcaster: “The number of Gazans who have moved so far allows the manoeuvre to begin in Gaza City.”
Israel has faced increasing condemnation over its conduct in its war against Hamas. Leaders of Arab and Islamic states, who have condemned the bombing of a building in Doha last Tuesday, met in Doha yesterday (Monday) to discuss planned diplomatic measures. Israel and Qatar normalised relations under the Abraham Accords of 2020, which diplomats say are under threat.
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