“It is a difficult morning after a very difficult day of fighting in Gaza,” he said in a statement after the army announced that 14 soldiers had been killed in the Palestinian territory since Friday.
Another soldier was killed on Sunday, the military said, bringing the total to 15 since Friday and 154 since October 27, when Israel’s ground offensive began.
“War is very expensive, but we have no choice but to continue fighting,” the prime minister added in a statement.
“We will continue with full force to the end, to victory, until we achieve all our goals: destroy Hamas, free the hostages, and ensure that the Gaza Strip never again poses a threat to the State of Israel,” Netanyahu said.
“It must be absolutely clear that this will be a long war (…) (until) Hamas is destroyed and we restore security both in the north and in the south,” the prime minister said.
In a new statement later on Sunday, Netanyahu pledged to protect the lives of soldiers.
“We are intensifying the war in the Gaza Strip,” he said. – We will do everything to protect the lives of our soldiers. But (…) we will not stop until we achieve victory.”
The Israeli army lost 10 soldiers on Saturday. It was one of the deadliest days for the Israeli military since October 7, when Hamas launched a bloody attack on the Jewish state.
Israel’s military is also facing Hezbollah fighters on its northern border with Lebanon.
On October 7, Hamas militants broke through the border into southern Israel and carried out an attack that killed about 1,140 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to AFP estimates based on the latest official Israeli figures.
Palestinian militants also kidnapped about 250 people, 129 of whom Israel says remain in the Gaza Strip.
In response to this attack, Israel launched a retaliatory air and ground campaign in this Palestinian territory.
The Health Ministry of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip said earlier on Saturday that at least 20,258 people had been killed in the Palestinian territory during the war between Israel and Hamas that began on October 7.
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2024-07-24 05:30:57
