Despite international pressure, Israel will continue its offensive against Hamas, including in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday.
“International pressure exists and is growing, but we must stand firm, we must resist attempts to stop the war together,” Netanyahu said, adding that those demanding it are essentially telling them to “lose the war.”
The army, Netanyahu added, will carry out operations against Hamas throughout the Gaza Strip, “including Rafah, the last stronghold of Hamas.”
“Anyone who tells us not to act in Rafah is telling us to lose the war, and that will not happen,” the Israeli prime minister said.
Due to the situation in Gaza, Sweden has initiated a meeting with the Israeli foreign minister and several European Union (EU) member states, as well as others, “to convey the urgent need to improve humanitarian access to the enclave,” Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on Thursday.
“Life and health of children in Gaza must be protected,” Kristersson said on social media, without providing further details.
The delivery of aid to the Palestinian enclave has failed, with only a fraction of the needed food arriving, and very little reaching the northern areas where hospitals say children have started dying from malnutrition.
