Netanyahu reaffirmed to Blinken Israel’s determination to eliminate Hamas 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday that he told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that Israel will not stop its war on the besieged Gaza Strip until Hamas is fully eliminated.

“I told him we have sworn, and I have sworn, to destroy Hamas. Nothing will stop us,” Netanyahu said in a televised address following his meeting with Blinken, adding that the war in Gaza will continue until Israel frees all prisoners of war, destroys Hamas and guarantees that no similar threat will ever be posed again from Gaza.

Blinken arrived in Israel on Wednesday evening and met with President Isaac Herzog in Tel Aviv yesterday before heading to Jerusalem where he met with Netanyahu and the Israeli war cabinet.

Blinken then headed to Ramallah where he met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas as part of efforts to discuss extending the temporary truce between Israel and Hamas.

The truce came to an end at 7am local time today with Israel resuming its bombing campaign in Gaza.

Gaza integral part of Palestine; we reject schemes for its separation: Palestine President Abbas