Netanyahu: We will continue until victory

2023-12-13 20:59:20, Kosova & Bota CNA

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told soldiers in Gaza via radio link on Wednesday that they will continue the offensive until victory is achieved.

Israel announced Wednesday its heaviest losses in the nearly two-month war after an ambush in the ruins of Gaza City. Israel is also facing increasing diplomatic isolation as civilian deaths mount and the humanitarian disaster worsens.

Israel announced that 10 soldiers were killed in the past 24 hours, including a colonel commanding an assault base and a lieutenant colonel commanding a regiment. This is the heaviest one-day casualty since October 31 when 15 Israeli soldiers were killed.

Israel enjoyed global support when it launched a military operation to eliminate the Palestinian militant group Hamas that controls Gaza after its fighters carried out a terror attack in southern Israel. During that attack, Hamas killed 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians, and took 240 hostages.

Since then, Israel has surrounded the territory of Gaza and destroyed a large part of it. Gaza's health ministry, which is controlled by Hamas, said on Wednesday that at least 18,608 people have been killed and 50,594 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7. Thousands more are suspected to have been buried under the rubble or lost their lives after being in areas where ambulances cannot go.

Hamas ambushes Israeli troops in Gaza/ Nine soldiers are killed
December 13, 19:08

The Israeli military released footage on Wednesday that it said showed fierce house-to-house battles with Hamas militants in the Shejaiya neighborhood of Gaza City.

Footage shows how despite Israel's superiority in air, tanks and artillery, Palestinian resistance remains deadly.

Fighting has intensified amid the rubble in the northern Gaza Strip, where Israel had previously claimed that its military objectives had largely been met.

Israel's foreign minister said Wednesday that the country would continue its fight against Hamas with or without international support.

White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan plans to be in Israel on Thursday and Friday to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as US efforts continue to pressure Israel to reverse what President Joe Biden has called the bombing of Gaza "indiscriminate"./ VOA