Netanyahu: Israel will push on with offensive against Hamas, including in Rafah

Israel will push on with its offensive against Hamas despite growing international pressure, including into the southern Gaza city of Rafah, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday. "There is international pressure and it's growing, but particularly when the international pressure rises, we must close ranks, we need to stand together against the attempts to stop the war," he said.

The military would operate against Hamas all through the Gaza Strip, he said, "including Rafah, the last Hamas stronghold." "Whoever tells us not to act in Rafah is telling us to lose the war and that will not happen."