Israel will not agree to a ceasefire as it would be equivalent to surrendering to Hamas and terrorism, Benjamin Nethanyu has said.
The Israeli prime minister added that his country would not agree to a ceasefire “just as the United States would not agree to a ceasefire after the bombing of Pearl Harbor or the terrorist attack of 9/11”.
Mr Netanyahu gave a news conference this evening as Israel’s troops push deeper into Gaza, with the country’s chief military spokesperson warning the military operations in the territory will “escalate”.
He condemned the “barbarians” of Hamas for trying to destroy the “promise” of Israel’s future.
Mr Netanyahu also urged the world not to “surrender to tyranny and terror”.
“Israel did not start this war. Israel did not want this war. But Israel will win this war,” Mr Netanyahu said.
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Hamas “raped women” and “beheaded men” during their surprise attack on 7 October, he added. He described their actions as the “most horrific crimes imaginable”.
“Israel is fighting the enemies of civilisation itself,” he said.
In a plea for sympathy from the international community, the Israeli leader said a distinction must be drawn between Hamas’s “deliberate targeting” of civilians and the “unintentional”