Israeli strike in Gaza claims lives of 18, PM Netanyahu rejects US call for path to Palestinian state

About eighteen people lost their lives in Gaza due to an Israeli strike on Sunday. Israeli Prime Minister- Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed Hamas’s demands as “Delusional” and rejected US and international calls for a path to a Palestinian state.

The United States said it would veto another cease-fire resolution in the United Nations (UN). The top US and Israel’s allies are seeking a comprehensive solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, hoping instead for a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas and the release of hostages.

Further, Netanyahu’s cabinet adopted a declaration on Sunday and stated that Israel would “Categorically reject international mandates on permanent settlements with the Palestinians” and would oppose any unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state.

Noting this, he added that this would “Grant a major prize to terror” after the October 7 attack that woke up the war between the nations.

Moreover, Prime Minister Netanyahu expressed his determination to continue the war until he destroys Hamas and gets back the hostages that had been kept since the outbreak of the war. He revealed that he is planning to expand the ceasefire to Gaza’s southernmost town of Rafah.

It is to be noted that more than half of the enclave’s population of 2.3 million Palestinians has taken shelter in the area of Rafah.

Meanwhile, the head of the World Health Organization expressed his concern as the services have been restricted in the Nasser Hospital, due to the Israeli airstrikes that occurred on Sunday. Furthermore, the facility is the main medical center of southern Gaza.

According to the reports, it is believed that Israeli soldiers were searching the compound where they believed the remains of hostages captured by Hamas. The troops had seized Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis which ended with an airstrike in Rafah.

Noting this, six people were killed including a woman and three children in Rafah, and in another strike, five men in Khan Younis lost their lives.

The head of the UN health agency- Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus added, “WHO team was not allowed to enter Nasser Hospital on Friday or Saturday “to assess the conditions of the patients and critical medical needs, despite reaching the hospital compound to deliver fuel alongside partners.”