Israel rebuffs pressure to halt campaign in southern Gaza

PM Netanyahu accuses global bodies of ignoring cases of rape by Hamas during Oct 7 attack

JERUSALEM/GAZA - Israeli leaders rebuffed mounting pressure to halt the military campaign in the southern Gaza Strip, vowing to press on until Hamas is eradicated, even as the death toll rose and the United Nations warned that civilians had no safe harbour amid the bombing.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a briefing with members of his war Cabinet, said that if the rest of the world wants the war to end quickly, it must stand with Israel.

He accused international organisations of ignoring what he said were "abhorrent" cases of rape by Hamas fighters during the Oct 7 incursion that touched off the latest violence.

"Hamas is trying to tear us down, and instead, we are taking them apart," Mr Netanyahu said, adding that Israeli forces had killed half of Hamas' battalion commanders.

"We will fight until the end, until a crushing victory." The message echoed past arguments that Mr Netanyahu and the Cabinet have made over concerns from the Biden administration and other allies, which have warned that the devastation wrought in north Gaza before a seven-day truce that ended last week must not be repeated in the south.

In a post to X on Dec 5, the European Union's top diplomat, Mr Josep Borrell, urged a new pause in the fighting.

While Israel has said it is taking increased precautions to protect the lives of civilians, the Hamasrun Health Ministry said on Dec 5 that the death toll has risen to some 1,000 people since the truce ended, bringing the number of dead Palestinians since Israel's counter-offensive began to more than 16,000.

Israel announced on Dec 5 that seven more soldiers had been killed in the latest fighting.