Netanyahu visits troops in Gaza
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel visited Israeli troops fighting in Gaza yesterday. His visit came after Gazan health officials said that an overnight strike on a crowded neighborhood had killed dozens of people.
Netanyahu said that Israel would “deepen” the fighting, despite the death toll — which Gaza Health Ministry officials say stands at about 20,000 people — and mounting pressure from the U.S. to lower the intensity of the war.
“We’re not stopping,” he said. “This will be a long battle, and it is not close to ending.”
The strike hit Al Maghazi, a neighborhood where many newly displaced Gazans had sought shelter. Gazan health officials initially said 70 people had died, with many others still unaccounted for. Photos showed people who appeared to be digging through rubble without the help of any heavy equipment.
“These rockets, it’s like they’re made to destroy mountains, not people,” said Mohamed Abu Shaah, who had taken shelter in Al Maghazi with his wife and seven daughters.
Responsibility: Gazan health officials blamed Israel for the deaths. Israel’s military said it was reviewing what happened.
Pope Francis: In his Christmas address, he pleaded for an “end to the military operations with their appalling harvest of innocent civilian victims.” He also called for aid to ease the desperate humanitarian crisis on the ground.
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