Hope for dialogue seems remote. Shortly after the outbreak of a new conflict between Israel and Palestine, officials on both sides affirmed their willingness to continue their respective military operations.
"What Hamas is going to go through is going to be difficult and terrible ... we are going to change the Middle East," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told senior local officials in southern Israel, where Hamas fighters carried out a surprise attack on Saturday morning.
VIDEO. Hamas attack on Israel: more than 1,100 dead, Israeli strikes on 500 targets... Update on the situation
"We are already in the middle of the campaign, but this is only the beginning," Netanyahu said at the meeting, adding that "we will defeat them with force, a lot of strength."
No "negotiation"
For his part, Hossam Badrane, a member of Hamas' political bureau and based in Doha, Qatar, assured that there was "no possible negotiation on the issue of prisoners or anything else."
"The military operation continues and the resistance, led by the Al-Qassam Brigades (Hamas' military wing), continues to defend the rights of our people. (...) Our mission now is to do everything possible to prevent the occupation from continuing to commit massacres against our people in Gaza, which directly target civilian homes. »
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The Israeli military on Monday ordered a "complete siege" of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, on the third day of a surprise and massive offensive launched by the Palestinian Islamist movement, compared by Israel to September 11, 2001.
More than 700 Israelis were killed in just over 48 hours and 2,150 wounded, according to the army. On the Palestinian side, 560 people were killed and 2,900 injured, according to local authorities.