On the 100th day of the war, Netanyahu vows to keep fighting in Gaza
Israel's political and military leaders marked 100 days of war against Hamas in Gaza this weekend by vowing to press on until victory, even as they awaited a decision from the world's highest court on a possible injunction against the offensive.
According to Israeli authorities, the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7 killed around 1,200 people, the majority of whom were civilians. According to health officials in Gaza, Israel's retaliatory war against Hamas in Gaza has killed more than 23,000 Palestinians, the majority of them women and children.
The Israeli statements warned of a long conflict and exposed a growing dissonance between domestic perceptions of the war's timing and objectives and growing international impatience in the face of a deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
“We will continue the war until the end – until total victory, until we achieve all our goals,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared at a televised press conference on Saturday evening, stating 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 in a defiant tone. He referred to the UN's highest court, where Israel is accused by South Africa of committing genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza, and to Iran and its allies – including Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen, whose military actions in solidarity with Hamas have been carried out. have raised the specter of a wider conflict.
Acknowledging that dismantling Hamas in Gaza “will take time,” Netanyahu seemed as focused on boosting domestic morale as he was on combating international criticism of the war.
Addressing doubters who view the Israeli government's goal of destroying Hamas, the militant 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. Most of Gaza's population of 2.2 million people has been internally displaced and the United Nations has warned that 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.
In a televised statement on Saturday evening, Israeli Army Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said Israel was engaged in “an unprecedented just war.” He said military 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 the October 7 attack on Israel.
“These goals are complex to achieve and will take a long time,” he said, urging patience.
Of the 240 people abducted to Gaza that day, more than 130 remain in the enclave, according to Israeli officials, although not all are believed to be alive.
A Hamas spokesman in Beirut, Osama Hamdan, said at a press conference on Saturday that Hamas was “providing care to the civilian prisoners in Gaza,” and that the only danger to their lives came from “Netanyahu and his army.”
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 hostage 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.
Hwaida Saad, Ameera Harouda, Roni Caryn Rabin And Nadav Gavrielov reporting contributed.