Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will not end its operation in Gaza until Hamas tunnels have been destroyed. Hamas has used an extensive network of tunnels to launch attacks on targets in Israel. Netanyahu maintains that Israel will push forward with efforts to destroy the tunnels “with or without a ceasefire.”
Meanwhile, Israeli shelling continues unabated. Nearly 100 people died in Gaza on Wednesday, including 16 who were killed when Israeli artillery hit a UN-run school in Jabaliya district of Gaza City.
On Thursday, the U.N.’s top human rights official, Navi Pillay, accused both Israel and Hamas of committing war crimes. By placing and firing rockets within heavily populated areas both sides, according to Pillay, are committing “a violation of international humanitarian law, therefore a war crime.” Around 1,300 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and 59 Israelis, mainly soldiers, have been killed in the latest violence.
