■ Pentagon leaders pressed Israel to protect Gaza civilians in Rafah.
Says call for cease-fire in Gaza serves to embolden Hamas
JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday blasted a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for a Gaza ceasefire that his country’s top ally, the United States, chose not to block. He said the resolution had emboldened Hamas and he vowed to press ahead with the war.
Netanyahu has said Israel can only achieve its aims of dismantling Hamas and returning scores of hostages if it expands its ground offensive to the southern city of Rafah, where over half of Gaza’s population has sought refuge. The U.S. has said a major assault on Rafah would be a mistake.
Hamas says it will hold onto the hostages until Israel agrees to a more permanent cease-fire, withdraws its forces from Gaza and releases hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, including top terrorists. Hamas said late Monday that it rejected a recent proposal that fell short of those demands — which, if fulfilled, would allow it to claim victory.
Netanyahu said in a statement that the announcement “proved clearly that Hamas is not interested in continuing negotiations toward a deal and served as unfortunate testimony to the damage of the Security Council decision.”
“Israel will not surrender to Hamas’ delusional demands and will continue to act to achieve all the goals of the war: releasing all the hostages, destroying Hamas’ military and governing capabilities and ensuring that Gaza will never again be a threat to Israel.”
Netanyahu’s approach has brought him into increasingly open conflict with President Joe Biden’s administration.
Hamas’ top political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, said the U.N. resolution showed that Israel faces “an unprecedented (level of ) political isolation” and was “losing its political cover” at the Security Council. He spoke at a press conference in Tehran after talks with officials in Iran, a key ally of Hamas terrorists. Iran has vowed to destroy Israel.
The war began on Oct. 7, when Hamas-led terrorists stormed across the border and attacked communities in southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around
250 others. It is still believed to be holding about 100 hostages and the remains of 35 others, after most of the rest were freed in November in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners.
In response, Israel launched retaliatory strikes that have killed more than 32,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its tally.