Benjamin Netanyahu spoke at a government meeting. © RONEN ZVULUN / POOL / AFP
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke at a government meeting and regretted having “paid a very high price for the war,” L'Opinion reports. He also estimated that “the war will be long.” Fourteen Israeli army soldiers have died fighting against Hamas in the Gaza Strip since Friday. This is one of the worst losses the army has recorded in such a short period of time since the start of its offensive against Gaza.
The IDF said it was stepping up operations against the Islamist movement. “We will fight to the end, until the hostages are released, until Hamas is eliminated and until we restore security in both the north and the south,” emphasized the leader of the Hebrew state.
The rest after this ad
153 Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza
On Friday, an Israeli soldier was killed in the north of the country by fire from Lebanon and the Lebanese Hezbollah movement. Benjamin Netanyahu also used his speech to pay tribute to the soldiers in his army. Since the start of the war, the Israeli army has killed 153 soldiers in the Gaza Strip.