Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would not stop the bombardment in Gaza “now”, with renewed efforts towards a ceasefire underway, AFP reports.
Speaking at a press conference in Jerusalem 14 months into the bombardment against Hamas Palestinian fighters, he said “if we end the war now, Hamas will return, recover, rebuild and attack us again — and that is what we do not want to go back to”.
Netanyahu reiterated that he had set the goal of “the annihilation of Hamas, the elimination of its military and administrative capabilities” to prevent future attacks but said that the objective was not yet complete.