Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to keep up the fight against Hamas terrorists during his visit to Israeli troops in the northern Gaza Strip on Dec. 25.
“We are not stopping. The war will continue until the end, until we finish it, no less,” Mr. Netanyahu said during the visit.
During its response to the Hamas terrorist group for its deadly Oct. 7 cross-border rampage, Israel has been under pressure from its closest ally, the United States, to shift operations in Gaza to a lower-intensity phase and reduce civilian deaths.
However, Mr. Netanyahu told lawmakers from his Likud party that the war is far from over and dismissed what he cast as media speculation that his government might call a halt to the fighting. He said Israel wouldn’t succeed in freeing its remaining hostages still held in Gaza without applying military pressure.
Hamas and smaller terrorist ally Islamic Jihad, both sworn to Israel’s destruction, are believed to still be holding more than 100 hostages from among the 240 whom they captured during their Oct. 7 rampage through Israeli towns that left 1,200 people dead.
Strikes that began hours before midnight persisted into Dec. 25.
At least 70 people were killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting Maghazi in central Gaza, health ministry spokesperson Ashraf Al-Qidra said. Medics said an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis in southern Gaza killed 23, bringing total Palestinian fatalities overnight to more than 100.
The Israeli military said on Dec. 25 that two of its soldiers had died the previous day, bringing to 158 the number killed since ground operations began on Oct. 20.
The Israeli army, which says it’s committed to minimizing harm to civilians, said it’s reviewing the report of a Maghazi incident. Israel says Hamas operates in densely populated areas and uses civilians as human shields, which Hamas denies.
On Dec. 23, Israel’s military chief of staff said his forces had largely achieved operational control in the north of Gaza and would expand operations further in the south.
Bethlehem Celebrations Canceled
Christian clergy canceled celebrations in Bethlehem, the West Bank city where Christian tradition says that Jesus was born more than 2,000 years ago.Palestinian Christians held a candle-lit Christmas vigil in Bethlehem, with hymns and prayers for peace in Gaza.
There was no large tree, the usual centerpiece of Bethlehem’s Christmas observances. Nativity figurines in churches were placed among rubble and barbed wire in solidarity with the people of Gaza.
