The Israeli leader also insisted that after the war, now entering its sixth week, Gaza would be demilitarized and Israel would retain security control there
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushed back Saturday against growing international calls for a cease-fire, saying Israel’s battle to crush Gaza’s ruling Hamas militants will continue with “full force.”
Both positions run counter to post-war scenarios floated by Israel’s closest ally, the United States. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said the U.S. opposes an Israeli reoccupation of Gaza and envisions a unified Palestinian government in both Gaza and the West Bank at some stage as a step toward Palestinian statehood.
Shifa hospital director Mohammed Abu Selmia said the facility lost power Saturday. “Medical devices stopped. Patients, especially those in intensive care, started to die,” he said by phone, with gunfire and explosions in the background. He said Israeli troops were “shooting at anyone outside or inside the hospital” and prevented movement between buildings.
The “unbearably desperate situation” at Shifa must stop now, the International Committee of the Red Cross director general, Robert Mardini, said on social media. U.N. humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths posted that “there can be no justification for acts of war in health care facilities.” They also called on the International Court of Justice, a U.N. organ, to open an investigation into Israel’s attacks, saying the war “cannot be called self-defense and cannot be justified under any means.”
Following Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel, in which at least 1,200 people were killed, Israel’s allies have defended the country’s right to protect itself. But now into the second month of war, there are growing differences over how Israel should conduct its fight. Palestinian civilians and rights advocates have pushed back against Israel’s portrayal of the southern evacuation zones as “relatively safe.” They note that Israeli bombardment has continued across Gaza, including airstrikes in the south that Israel says target Hamas leaders but that have also killed women and children.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Israel-Gaza war: Israel agrees to daily pauses for civilians to leave northern GazaTens of thousands of civilians, most of them on foot and many carrying white flags, have fled northern Gaza along the Gaza Strip’s main north-south route.
Read more »
Netanyahu: Israel has no timetable to defeat HamasRachel Schilke is a breaking news reporter at the Washington Examiner. Originally from Frankfort, Illinois, she graduated from the University of Iowa in May 2022 and served as a managing editor at the Daily Iowan with a focus on crime and courts and local government. Follow her on X: rachel_schilke.
Read more »
Live updates: Israel-Hamas war rages as Gaza evacuations continueIsrael has agreed to daily four-hour pauses of military operations in parts of northern Gaza, the White House said. The pauses do not amount to a ceasefire and will not affect the fight in Gaza, Israel's defense minister said. Follow here for live updates.
Read more »
Netanyahu: Israel does not seek to conquer Gaza but may enter to prevent militant threatsIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday his country does not seek to conquer, occupy or govern Gaza after its war against Hamas but a 'credible force' would be needed to enter the Palestinian enclave if necessary to prevent the emergence of militant...
Read more »
Israel-Gaza war live updates: Medical workers trapped at main Gaza City hospital under ‘unrelenting’ bombardmentFuel shortages left the al-Shifa hospital without power, killing a premature baby and four patients in the intensive care unit, Gaza health officials said Saturday.
Read more »
Israel-Gaza war live updates: Israeli tanks encircle Gaza hospitals; Netanyahu says he doesn’t ‘seek to occupy Gaza’Israeli tanks surrounded several hospitals in northern Gaza on Friday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel doesn’t “seek to occupy Gaza.”
Read more »