According to a CNN report, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to carry on with military operations in Gaza and emphasized that Israel must continue to battle to secure its survival in face of growing opposition.
On Saturday night, Netanyahu stated in a pre-recorded video that Israel had “no choice” but to continue fighting “for our very own existence until victory.”
The 59 hostages still in Gaza need to be freed, and Netanyahu called for “perseverance and resilience” in the fight against Hamas.
Netanyahu cited Hamas’ refusal of a recent Israeli ceasefire proposal as a reason Israel will continue its bombardment of Gaza. Israel’s proposal called for the disarmament of Gaza and did not include a permanent end to the war, both of which have been red lines for Hamas, CNN reported.
“If we surrender to Hamas’s demands now, all the tremendous achievements gained by our soldiers, our fallen, and our wounded heroes–those achievements will simply be lost,” Israeli PM said.
Netanyahu’s most recent speech was criticized by the Hostage Families Forum Headquarters, which said he had no clear “plan” in place to secure the hostages’ release.
“The plain fact is that Netanyahu has no plan, and no amount of rhetoric or catchphrases will be able to conceal it. The forum stated, “It is not surprising that there was not time for questions because he would have had to respond to the most fundamental one: What is the State of Israel doing to immediately bring back all 59 hostages?”
Israeli soldiers had earlier signed a petition demanding an end to the conflict in Gaza and accelerating talks to repatriate indigenous prisoners from the war-torn region.
“A group of 150 Golani Brigade members have joined the call to end the war, adding their names to thousands of others in a sign of dissent that has alarmed the Israeli government,” Al Jazeera reported earlier this week, citing Israeli Army Radio.
Since last week, a number of petitions have been making the rounds among the Israeli military. Following the first, which was signed by 1,000 Israeli Air Force reserves, subsequent ones were distributed to officers and veterans serving in the navy, armored corps, and other military forces.