Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sounded a defiant note from the Knesset rostrum on Monday evening, vowing to continue fighting in Gaza despite mounting international condemnation of the offensive in Rafah, and rejecting accusations that his government is not negotiating in good faith for the release of hostages held in the Strip. “Those who say they are not ready to stand up to the pressure raise the flag of defeat; I won’t raise any such flag, I will keep fighting until the flag of victory is raised,” he said. “I don’t intend to end the war before every goal has been achieved.
If we give in, the massacre will return. If we give in, we will give a huge win to terror, to Iran.” Speaking in the Knesset plenum after opposition lawmakers managed to garner 40 signatures, forcing him to appear for a symbolic hearing on his performance, Netanyahu also pushed back against criticism stemming from a Sunday evening strike in Rafah linked to the deaths of numerous Palestinian civilians.
Touching on the incident — in which a strike against two top Hamas commanders appeared to spark a blaze that spread through a tent encampment, killing dozens, according to Gazan health authorities — Netanyahu claimed that Israel has made attempts to keep civilians safe, evacuating 1 million people from Rafah, where 1.5 million were thought to be gathered before Israel’s offensive. “Despite our efforts not to harm them, there was a tragic mishap.
We are investigating the incident,” .
