Netanyahu says Israeli soldiers in Gaza want to continue offensive

Gaza: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that soldiers fighting Hamas in the Gaza Strip had asked for the ground offensive to continue.
“I just returned from Gaza; I met a division of reservists on the field… All of them asked me for one thing only: We must not stop; we must keep going until the end,” he was quoted by the Jerusalem Post as telling his Likud party in parliament.
The far-right politician refuted media reports that claimed the Israeli offensive against the Palestinian enclave was grounding to a halt. On the contrary, he said that fighting would only intensify in the coming days.
“This will be a long battle, and it is not close to being over,” Netanyahu added.
On October 7, Palestinian movement Hamas launched a large-scale rocket attack against Israel from the Gaza Strip, while its fighters breached the border, opening fire on the military and civilians. As a result, over 1,200 people in Israel were killed and some 240 others abducted.
Israel launched retaliatory strikes, ordered a complete blockade of Gaza and launched a ground incursion into the Palestinian enclave with the declared goal of eliminating Hamas fighters and rescuing the hostages. Over 20,600 people have been killed and more than 54,500 injured so far in Gaza as a result of Israeli strikes, local authorities said.
UNI/SPUTNIK