Body A picture taken from Rafah shows smoke billowing over Khan Younis during Israeli bombardment in the southern Gaza Strip on Dec. 24, 2023, amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (Credit: Said Khatib/AFP)
TEL AVIV — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that the Gaza war was exacting a "very heavy price" as the toll of soldiers killed in fighting with Hamas mounted.
"This is a difficult morning, after a very difficult day of fighting in Gaza," he said after the army announced 14 soldiers had been killed in the Palestinian territory since Friday.
Another soldier was killed on Sunday, the army announced, bringing the number of troops killed since Friday to 15 and the total to 154 since Israel's ground assault began on Oct. 27.
"The war is exacting a very heavy price ... but we have no choice but to keep fighting," Netanyahu said in a statement.
"We are continuing with full force until the end, until victory, until we achieve all of our goals: the destruction of Hamas, the return of our hostages and ensuring that Gaza will never again constitute a threat to the State of Israel."
He added: "This will be a long war ... [until] Hamas is eliminated and we restore security."
Later on Sunday, in a new statement, Netanyahu vowed to protect the lives of soldiers.
"We are intensifying the war in the Gaza Strip," he said. "We will do everything to safeguard the lives of our soldiers. However ... we will not stop until we achieve victory."
The military lost 10 soldiers in Gaza on Saturday, making it one of the deadliest days for Israeli troops since fighting began on Oct. 7, triggered by a deadly Hamas attack on southern Israel.
Israel's offensive has claimed the lives of over 20,000 people in Gaza since Oct. 7, in what organizations, individuals, and even the US president have referred to as "indiscriminate bombing" of the enclave, which has been under blockade by Israel since 2007. A fraction of the aid needed, according to several international humanitarian organizations, is being allowed to enter— under Israeli inspection — causing dire living conditions among a population of 2.3 million of which 80 percent have been displaced. There are only two crossings along the heavily militarized border that are open for movement into and out of the Strip.
There are no longer any fully-functional hospitals left in Gaza, out of an original 36. On Friday, the UN Security Council finally managed to pass a resolution regarding the Gaza war, but in order to avoid further vetoing by the US, called only for increased aid to the Strip and to "create the conditions for a durable cessation of hostilities" — the closest the 15-member council could get to calling for a cease-fire.
TEL AVIV — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that the Gaza war was exacting a "very heavy price" as the toll of soldiers killed in fighting with Hamas mounted.
"This is a difficult morning, after a very difficult day of fighting in Gaza," he said after the army announced 14 soldiers had been killed in the Palestinian territory since Friday.
Another soldier was killed on Sunday, the army announced, bringing the number of troops killed since Friday to 15 and the total to 154 since Israel's ground assault began on Oct. 27.
"The war is exacting a very heavy price ... but we have no choice but to keep fighting," Netanyahu said in a statement.
"We are continuing with full force until the end, until victory,...
