Netanyahu: No ceasefire
Israel will not enter into a ceasefire with Hamas, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday evening. A ceasefire would be “surrendering” to Hamas, he said. “Calls for a ceasefire are calls for Israel to surrender to Hamas, to surrender to terrorism and to surrender to barbarism. That’s not going to happen,” he says. Israel will “fight until this battle is won”, he told a press conference for international media.
Asked whether the high death toll in the Gaza Strip could indicate that Israel is “collectively punishing the Palestinian people,” Netanyahu said Israel was “doing everything” to prevent civilians from dying. He compares it to the British Air Force’s mission to bomb Gestapo headquarters in Copenhagen during World War II. By mistake, British pilots hit the French School in Copenhagen instead of Shell House. 86 children were among the 116 killed. “It’s not a war crime. This is not something Britain was blamed for doing. It was a legitimate act of war with tragic consequences that come with such legitimate acts,” he said, according to the Times of Israel. /ritzau/