(LANKAPUVATH | COLOMBO) – Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected calls for a ceasefire in Gaza, saying it would amount to a “surrender to Hamas” and that “this is a time for war”.
In a briefing to foreign press, Mr Netanyahu said a ceasefire would amount to surrendering to Hamas, whose gunmen killed 1,400 people and took more than 230 hostages, according to the latest Israeli figures.
“Calls for a ceasefire are calls for Israel to surrender to Hamas, to surrender to terrorism… this will not happen,” he said, vowing Israel would “fight until this battle is won”.
Meanwhile, UN aid agencies repeated their calls for a humanitarian ceasefire at an emergency UN Security Council meeting.
Unicef says the situation in Gaza is growing worse by the hour, and the “true cost of this latest escalation will be measured in children’s lives”.
(Agencies)
