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Herzog in Davos with Kfir's photo: 'We fight a war for the freedom of the world' - Middle East

2024-01-18T19:47:06.644Z

Highlights: Herzog in Davos with Kfir's photo: 'We fight a war for the freedom of the world' - Middle East. Netanyahu: 'Victory will take a few more months, but we are determined to achieve it' UNRWA - the UN agency for Palestinian refugees - has announced that 151 of its employees have been killed since the start of hostilities in Gaza. Defense Minister Gallant warned that Israel must prepare "for a worsening" of the situation. Israel's war on Hamas is for world freedom.


Netanyahu: 'War for months'. And Blinken freezes on Palestine (ANSA)


Israel's war on Hamas is for world freedom.

From the podium in Davos, as a warning with next to him the photo of little Kfir Bibas - the red-haired baby who turns one today as a prisoner of Hamas in Gaza - Israeli President Isaac Herzog issued a warning about the ongoing conflict with the Palestinian faction.

And he also indicated, after the October 7 massacre, the main point of the post-war period in the case of the possible birth of a Palestinian state.

"What security guarantees will there be for Israeli citizens?" asked the head of state, while in Tel Aviv hundreds of balloons rose into the sky in homage to little Kfir Bibas for 'the worst birthday in the world'.

According to Herzog "the preliminary question" remains precisely that linked "to security for Israeli citizens".

"Israel - he continued - wants to live in peace, and there is a strong desire for coexistence among both Israelis and Palestinians, but terrorism must be eliminated".

"I don't deny - he added - the human tragedy in Gaza, it is painful to see that our neighbors are suffering so much but we have the right to defend ourselves. What can we do if terrorists are hiding among civilians?".

It was Benjamin Netanyahu who put a damper on US expectations for the birth of a Palestinian state as a driving force for resolving the crisis.

According to rumors from NBC, the prime minister rejected a proposal from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken for a normalization of relations with Saudi Arabia in exchange for a "path" for the birth of a Palestinian state.

Blinken - according to the same rumors - also called for a change in the current leadership in Jerusalem if the current conflict situation is not to be "repeated".

"The day after Netanyahu" means the birth of a Palestinian state which is against "the majority of citizens of Israel", the prime minister cut short, thus confirming the rejection of the US proposal.

"For 30 years - he said - I have been consistent by maintaining a simple thing: the conflict is not about the lack of a State but about the existence of a State".

"From every territory from which we withdraw - he explained - we will have terror. It happened in southern Lebanon, in Gaza, Judea and Samaria (West Bank)".

Netanyahu added that the war against Hamas "will continue on all fronts until all objectives are achieved", including the release of the hostages for which "military pressure" is decisive.

"Victory - he underlined - will take a few more months, but we are determined to achieve it".

And he reiterated that in the post-war period in Gaza "there will be no party that educates on terror, finances it and sends terrorists against Israel".

On the 104th day of the war, the Israeli army continued to pound the Strip from north to south.

The death toll - according to Hamas which does not distinguish between killed civilians and militiamen - has risen to 24,620.

The Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that in Rafah, in the south close to Egypt, an Israeli raid left 19 dead, "mostly children and women".

According to Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera, the attack occurred in an area declared "safe" by Israel.

UNRWA - the UN agency for Palestinian refugees - has announced that 151 of its employees have been killed since the start of hostilities in Gaza.

Not far from Rafah, in Khan Yunis, the Israeli army conquered the Shuhada Outpost, the largest Hamas stronghold in the area.

And it demolished the largest Hamas plant for the production of rockets and weapons in the center of Gaza in the center of the Strip.

The tension in Lebanon is not easing either, where rockets from Hezbollah continue to arrive, followed by raids by Israel.

Defense Minister Gallant warned that Israel must prepare "for a worsening" of the situation."

Reproduction reserved © Copyright ANSA

Source: ansa

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