Netanyahu was met with boos and outcries during his address to parliament, as he told families of captives that “more time” was needed. Image: President.gov.ua, via Wikimedia Commons
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu was met with boos and outcries during his address to parliament, as he told families of captives that “more time” was needed to bring them home.
Netanyahu, however, defended his course of action against the criticism.
“We wouldn’t have succeeded up until now to release more than 100 hostages without military pressure, said Netanyahu.
“And we won’t succeed at releasing all the hostages without military pressure.”
The release of approximately 100 captives was negotiated in early November, with an estimated 129 still held hostage.
Three hostages were mistakenly shot and killed by Israeli forces earlier this month.
Despite growing criticism of Netanyahu’s drastic military offense, both within Israel and internationally, the prime minister promised to continue the assault on Gaza.
“We’re not stopping. We’re continuing to fight, and we’re intensifying the fighting in the coming days. It’s going to be a long war that’s not close to ending,” he said.
Israel’s finance minister expects the operations to continue until at least February of 2024 and to incur a further $14 billion in costs.
Already, more than 50,000 Palestinian civilians have been wounded and more than 20,000 are dead, as Israel’s bombardment of Gaza continues into its third month.
U.N. Human Rights Office spokesperson Seif Magango expressed their grave concerns over the ongoing bombardment of Gaza.
“We are gravely concerned about the continued bombardment of Middle Gaza by Israeli forces, which has claimed more than 100 Palestinian lives since Christmas Eve,” said Magango.
“Israeli forces must take all measures available to protect civilians. Warnings and evacuation orders do not absolve them of the full range of their international humanitarian law obligations.”
