Defiant Netanyahu vows to 'continue until the end, until victory, nothing less': Live updates
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged Wednesday to persist with an offensive that has killed more than 18,000 Palestinians and prompted widespread calls for a cease-fire, remaining defiant in light of Israel's worst combat losses since late October.
A day after President Joe Biden said "indiscriminate bombing" is causing Israel to lose international support − in a rare sign of discord between the allies − Netanyahu told military commanders to carry on with their pursuit of Hamas militants in Gaza.
“We are continuing until the end, there is no question,'' Netanyahu said. "I say this even given the great pain, and the international pressure. Nothing will stop us, we will continue until the end, until victory, nothing less.”
The Israeli military said Wednesday 10 of its soldiers, including a colonel and a lieutenant colonel, were killed in the previous 24 hours in north Gaza, the biggest loss of life for the army since 15 Israeli soldiers died Oct. 31, Reuters reported.
On Tuesday, the U.N. General Assembly voted 153 to 10 in favor of a humanitarian cease-fire, with the U.S. and Israel in opposition. Last week, the U.S. vetoed a similar Security Council resolution, the only member to vote against it.
Developments:
∎ The Israeli military confirmed its website was briefly hacked, by a group calling itself “Anonymous Jo” that said the army's “arrogance and injustice toward our people in Gaza will only harm you through terror, killing and war, whether by land, air or electronically.”
∎ At least seven Palestinians were killed in a two-day Israeli military raid in the West Bank, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. Israel said troops operating in the Jenin refugee camp seized weapons and uncovered tunnels and six explosives laboratories.
∎ Of the 116 rockets Hamas has shot toward Israel from the humanitarian zone since its establishment eight weeks ago, 38 have fallen in Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces tweeted.
∎ Eleven of the 36 hospitals in Gaza were partially functional and able to admit new patients as of Tuesday, according to the U.N. Occupancy rates are now reaching 206% in inpatient departments and 250% in intensive care units, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
∎ The World Health Organization demanded the protection of health care and humanitarian assistance in Gaza, citing recent military checkpoint delays and an incident in which paramedics taking severely ill patients to a hospital in northern Gaza were temporarily detained and one was held at gunpoint.
Palestinians much prefer Hamas to PA leader, poll says
The U.S. and Israel don't agree on what a future without Hamas would look like, and Palestinians don't seem all that convinced they want the militant group gone.
A poll by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research found 44% of respondents in the occupied West Bank said they supported Hamas, up from just 12% in September. In Gaza, support for Hamas was at 42%, four points higher than three months ago.
Based on the poll, Palestinians are convinced they don't want Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas as their leader, with nearly 90% saying he should resign. The PA governs parts of the West Bank and is the U.S. choice for ruling Gaza post-Hamas, but the administration run by Abbas, 88, is largely seen as corrupt and ineffective.
Late Wednesday, Hamas' exiled supreme leader, Ismail Haniyeh, told Yemen's Al-Masirah TV any plans for Gaza without Hamas are an “illusion and mirage,” though he said the group is open to halting the fighting.
Nine Israeli soldiers killed in ambush in Gaza City
At least nine Israeli soldiers were killed in an ambush in Gaza City on Tuesday, including Col. Itzhak Ben Basat, the most senior officer to have been killed in the ground operation, and Lt. Col. Tomer Grinberg, a battalion commander, the military said.
Reports say that troops were caught in a double ambush in the Shejaiya neighborhood. Four soldiers initially lost communication while carrying out building searches. When other soldiers attempted to rescue them, they were ambushed.
Ten Israeli soldiers in total were killed on Tuesday, according to the military. The Washington Post reported that one soldier was killed in a battle in the northern Gaza Strip.
The Israeli military said 115 of its soldiers have been killed since Hamas' attack on Oct. 7. Thirteen of those deaths were caused by friendly fire due to mistaken identification during shelling, gunfire and airstrikes; several others involved weapon misfires, the Israeli military told multiple media outlets.
Families grateful for 'terrific' meeting with Biden
Biden met for about two hours Wednesday with families of American hostages held in Gaza, who said they appreciated the efforts being made to free their loved ones.
Jonathan Dekel-Chen, father of Israeli American captive Sagui Dekel-Chen, held a flier with a picture of his 35-year-old son as he addressed the media following the meeting with Biden and other administration officials.
“It was a terrific, terrific meeting and conversation,” the elder Dekel-Chen said. “We felt before and were only reinforced in seeing and believing that we could have no better friend in Washington or in the White House than President Biden himself and his administration.”
Seven American men are believed to be among the 137 hostages still in Gaza. One American woman remains unaccounted for. Four American hostages have been released by Hamas, including two during a week-long cease-fire late last month.
Health officials warn of diseases spreading among Gaza civilians
Infectious diseases in Gaza are spreading wildly due to overcrowded living conditions, which has added "to the strain on an increasingly overwhelmed health system and an increased risk of people dying," the U.N.'s humanitarian affairs office said.
At least 360,000 cases of infectious disease have been documented in shelters by the Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, according to the U.N. Officials noted that the actual total "is believed to be higher."
The WHO said cases of meningitis, jaundice, impetigo – a skin infection that strikes most in young children, chickenpox and other upper-respiratory tract infections have been recorded among civilians in Gaza, mostly packed into areas throughout the southern region of the enclave.
In the southern border town of Rafah, the director of the Abu Youssef Al-Najjar Hospital said diarrhea and influenza were spreading and said 1,500 cases of intestinal disease have been reported daily. These outbreaks are linked to malnutrition, which the officials said were prompted by food shortages.
Nearly 1.9 million people in Gaza, or more than 82% of the population, have been displaced, according to UNRWA, the U.N.'s aid group for Palestinian refugees.
US targets Hamas officials with new sanctions
The United States announced Wednesday it is imposing new war-related sanctions on Hamas, including sanctions against officials who “perpetuate Hamas’s violent agenda by representing the group’s interests abroad and managing its finances,” the Treasury Department said.
The department said the sanctions, coordinated with the United Kingdom, were the fourth round imposed on Hamas since its Oct. 7 attacks.
“Hamas continues to rely heavily on networks of well-placed officials and affiliates, exploiting seemingly permissive jurisdictions to direct fundraising campaigns for the group’s benefit and funneling those illicit proceeds to support its military activities in Gaza,” Brian E. Nelson, undersecretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, said in a statement.
The sanctioned officials are based in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon and Turkey, the Treasury Department said. They include Ismail Musa Ahmad Barhum, who the department said is a member of the Gaza Strip Political Bureau and has worked with the Hamas finance minister to aggregate money from global fundraising into the organization’s finance accounts.
Contributing: Joey Garrison, USA TODAY; Associated Press
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Israel-Hamas war updates: Netanyahu vows to press 'until victory'
