(VOVWORLD) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that Israel will escalate its renewed assault on the Gaza Strip and that “from now on, the negotiations on a Gaza ceasefire will take place only under fire.”
In a televised address, Netanyahu warned that Israeli military has returned to fighting with full force and that from now on, Israel will act against Hamas with increasing intensity.
He said Israel will continue fighting to achieve all its objectives, which are freeing the hostages, eliminating Hamas, and ensuring that Gaza will no longer be a threat to Israel.
Netanyahu claimed that the overnight surprise attack was launched because Hamas rejected Israeli and US proposals to extend the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire truce that already ended on March 1. He said military pressure remains a necessary strategy for securing the release of additional hostages.