Netanyahu Says No New Cease-Fire Until Hamas Stops Attacks
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Uriel Sinai/Getty images(JERUSALEM) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that Hamas leaders were legitimate targets, as the two sides resumed hostilities following the abrupt end to an earlier cease-fire extension.
There were reports that Mohammed Deif, the top leader of the militant group, escaped an Israeli airstrike in Gaza but that his wife and seven-month-old son were killed.
Three consecutive cease-fires had raised hopes that Israeli and Palestinian negotiators in Cairo could come to a long-term truce. However, a Hamas rocket attack on Israel Tuesday followed by retaliatory airstrikes led to the diplomats being called back to their respective homelands.
Netanyahu suggested Wednesday that the conflict, which began on July 8, will continue until Hamas stops firing rockets at Israel.
He promised that Hamas “will be hit back sevenfold” for every missile the group fires.
That has been the case over the past six weeks, with Palestinian deaths nearing 2,000, while Israeli fatalities number about 67.
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