As the air strikes by Israel continue in Gaza, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday, 15 May said that Israel will continue to strike in Gaza 'as long as necessary'.
Netanyahu blamed Hamas for starting the war and said that Tel Aviv, a city in west central Israel will continue to launch air strikes in Gaza.
In a television speech, Netanyahu said, "The party that bears the guilt for this confrontation is not us, it's those attacking us. We are still in the midst of this operation, it is still not over and this operation will continue as long as necessary."
"Unlike Hamas, which deliberately intends to harm civilians while hiding behind civilians, we are doing everything to avoid, or limit as much as possible, harming civilians and to directly strike terrorists instead," he said.
This move has come after US President Joe Biden expressed concerns about the escalating conflict in the Gaza Strip in separate phone calls with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Biden “shared his grave concern about the intercommunal violence across Israel”, Xinhua news agency quoted a White House readout of the conversation.
Meanwhile, Israel continues to bomb the home of Hamas's chief in Gaza early on Sunday, 16 May, and the Islamist group fired rocket barrages at Tel Aviv as hostilities stretched into a seventh day with no sign of abating.
Israel on Saturday, 15 May, had also bombed a 13-storey building with international media offices, including Qatar-based Al Jazeera and United States’ The Associated Press, in Gaza.
At least 149 people have been killed in Gaza since the violence broke out on Monday, 10 May, including 41 children, informed Gaza health officials. Israel has reported 10 dead, including two children.
(With inputs from Reuters)
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