Israel-Hamas war: US says it shot down Houthi missile aimed at Navy ship

Mr. Netanyahu's comments and the Israeli military's comments last weekend, warning of a protracted conflict, have exposed a growing dissonance between domestic perceptions of the war's timing and objectives and growing international impatience toward a worsening of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

The United States, Israel's most important ally, has done so too called on Israel to scale back its campaignwhile many other countries have called for an immediate ceasefire.

“We will continue the war until the end – until total victory, until we achieve all our goals,” Mr. Netanyahu declared at a televised news conference on Saturday evening, saying that “eliminating Hamas, returning all our hostages and ensuring that Gaza will never again pose a threat to Israel,” were the objectives.

“No one will stop us – not The Hague, not the axis of evil and no one else,” he added. The Hague is the highest court of the United Nations hearing accusations South Africa has said that Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza.

The court's judges heard two days of hearings last week and will now decide whether to call on Israel to take interim measures, such as halting fighting, while Israel assesses the merits of the genocide claim. No date has been set for the announcement of that decision and in any case the court has few resources to enforce its rulings.

Mr Netanyahu in the same breath appealed to Iran and its allies, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemenwhose military actions took place, they say, in solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza raised the specter of a wider conflict.

The United States led airstrikes on locations in Yemen controlled by the Houthi militia on Thursday and Friday. in response to more than twenty Houthi attacks against commercial shipping in the Red Sea since November. However, the Houthis retained much of their ability to fire missiles and drones. according to US officials.

At the same time, clashes at the Israel-Lebanon border continued this weekend.

An anti-tank missile launched from Lebanon on Sunday hit a house in northern Israel, killing a farmer and his mother, according to initial reports. The Israeli military said its fighter jets had struck Hezbollah targets in Lebanon and that its forces had engaged in an overnight firefight with armed men who crossed into Israeli-controlled territory from Lebanon. Three gunmen were killed and five soldiers were injured, the army said.

Tens of thousands of Israelis have been evacuated from the country's northern border areas, and so has Israel warned that it will resort to military action if diplomatic efforts to facilitate their safe return home do not bear fruit. Thousands of Lebanese civilians have also fled the border area.

On Sunday, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah struck a tone of defiance. “After 99 days,” he said, “we are ready for war. We are not afraid of it.”

For now, Israeli leaders say they are focusing on Gaza.

While Mr Netanyahu acknowledged on Sunday that the war is a fact “will take many months”, his comments the night before seemed aimed as much at boosting domestic morale as at countering international criticism of the military campaign.

Addressing doubters who see the Israeli government's goal of destroying Hamas, the armed group that has controlled Gaza for 16 years, as unrealistic, he said: “It is possible, it is necessary, and we will do it.”

As the death toll in Gaza has risen, international calls for a ceasefire have increased. The fighting has displaced most of the enclave's 2.2 million residents and the United Nations has warned about this. half the population is at risk of starvation.

“The mass death, destruction, displacement, hunger, loss and grief of the past 100 days color our shared humanity,” said Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner general of the UN agency responsible for Palestinian refugees. said in a statement.

Rajab al-Sindawi, a 48-year-old man from Gaza City, said he, his wife and their seven children were hiding in a nylon tent on a sidewalk in Rafah's Tel al-Sultan neighborhood and were struggling to sleep at night. to stay warm. because they only had a few blankets.

“Nothing is fair in Gaza,” Mr al-Sindawi said in a text message. “My family is missing the basic things you need in life.”

Mr al-Sindawi and his family arrived in Rafah in early January after weeks of criss-crossing Gaza in search of safety.

Israeli leaders have continued to talk about what comes next, mainly in opaque military terms, which have at times increased friction with critics and allies alike.

Reflecting such potential tension, Israel is under pressure to withdraw its evacuation orders in Gaza. But Mr Netanyahu said Palestinians expelled from northern Gaza would not be able to return home anytime soon because it would not be safe for them. Although the Israeli army has said so scale back its activities in the north, armed forces there continue to clash with Hamas fighters.

Gabi Siboni, an Israeli colonel in the reserves and affiliated with the conservative-leaning Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, said it would be “illogical” to allow displaced Gaza residents to move back north. Israeli forces are still destroying Hamas' underground tunnels, and Colonel Siboni said blowing up the tunnels risked collapsing buildings along the route. Hamas fighters could also try to join the returning civilian population, he added, and “then we'll be back to square one.”

Despite the widespread death and destruction in Gaza, Fuad Khuffash, an analyst close to Hamas, emphasized that the armed group was winning the war. “Hamas is still firing rockets, still confronting and killing soldiers, and still destroying tanks,” said Mr. Khuffash, who is based in Nablus in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Addressing the toll taken on the people of Gaza, Mr Khuffash said that “everyone in the world who wants to liberate his country must make a sacrifice.”

And “As for Israel,” he said, “it has not achieved any of its goals: it has not ended Hamas, it has not taken away Hamas's weapons, it has not killed Hamas's top leaders in Gaza, and it has not Israeli prisoners not returned. In military and political terms, Hamas has won a victory.”

In a televised statement on Saturday evening, the Israeli army's chief of staff said plans had been approved to continue the fight and increase pressure on Hamas, leading to the dismantling of the group and the return of hostages taken in October brought. 7. attack on Israel.

“These goals are complex to achieve and will take a long time,” Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said, urging patience.

Of the 240 people abducted from Israel to Gaza on October 7, more than 130 remain in the enclave, according to Israeli officials, although not all are believed to be alive.

In Israel, public concern over the hostages has increased by the day.

On Sunday, a working day in Israel, a 100-minute work stoppage was observed by universities, many companies, municipal councils and government agencies in solidarity with the hostages.

Tens of thousands of Israelis also attended a rally in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening in support of the hostages and their families. Dozens of protesters blocked the main intercity highway, demanding that the government ensure the immediate release of the remaining prisoners.

“We are deeply concerned that our decision makers are not prioritizing the hostages, getting them home alive and not in boxes,” said Jonathan Dekel-Chen, whose son Sagui, 35, a US citizen, was taken hostage on October 7.

Large pro-Palestinian demonstrations also took place in London, Washington, New York and other cities on Saturday to mark the 100 days of war. Protesters in London chanted “Ceasefire now” and held up signs reading “Gaza – stop the carnage.” In Washington, thousands of demonstrators also called for an end to US military aid to Israel.

Reporting was contributed by Hwaida Saad, Ameera Harouda, Roni Caryn Rabin, Gabby Sobelman, Myra Noveck And Matthew Mpoke Bigg.