“Nothing will stop us. We will go to the end, until victory.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised Thursday, December 14, to continue the fight against Hamas, despite “the great suffering” caused by military losses and “pressures” for a ceasefire. On the ground, the Israeli army once again carried out strikes against several towns in the Palestinian enclave (Gaza, Nuseirat and Rafah), announced the Ministry of Health of the Hamas administration. A raid was also carried out in Jenin, a stronghold of armed factions in the occupied West Bank, the ministry added. Follow our live stream.
More than twenty dead after these attacks. IDF strikes caused the deaths of 19 Palestinians on Wednesday, the Hamas health ministry said. These figures, however, should be taken with caution, as they are impossible to confirm independently. In Jenin, the toll was two dead and several injured, said the Palestinian Authority Ministry of Health. On the Israeli side, the army announced the death of a soldier overnight in the south of the Gaza Strip, bringing to 116 the number of soldiers dead since the start of the offensive against Hamas, including ten killed on Tuesday, the heaviest toll in one only day on the Israeli side.
Hamas ready to discuss. In a televised speech, Ismail Haniyeh, one of the main leaders of Hamas, said he was ready for discussions on “a political path that will ensure the right of Palestinians to an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital”. “Any arrangement in Gaza or regarding the Palestinian cause without Hamas or the resistance movements is an illusion”underlined the political leader of the Islamist movement, who is currently in Qatar.
American visit to Israel. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan is expected Thursday and Friday in Jerusalem for talks with Benjamin Netanyahu. It will notably discuss the need to carry out strikes “more surgical and more precise in order to reduce civilian casualties” in Gaza, said John Kirby, spokesperson for the White House National Security Council. Joe Biden spoke of “indiscriminate bombings” and a possible “erosion” Western support for Israel.