Reuters. Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, on Monday (December 25) met with soldiers in Northern Gaza, his office said.
Netanyahu accompanied by Deputy Chief-of-Staff Maj.-Gen. Amir Baram spoke with soldiers and commanders and pledged to continue to fight until the end, it added.
"We are not stopping. Whoever talks about stopping – there is no such thing. We are not stopping. The war will continue until the end,” Netanyahu said.
Hamas and smaller militant ally Islamic Jihad, both sworn to Israel's destruction, are believed to be holding more than 100 hostages from among 240 they captured during their Oct. 7 rampage through Israeli towns, when they killed 1,200 people.
Since then, Israel has besieged the narrow Gaza Strip and laid much of it to waste. Nearly 20,700 people have been killed by Israeli airstrikes, including 250 in the last 24 hours, according to authorities in Hamas-ruled Gaza on Monday. Thousands more are believed to be dead under the rubble.
