At least 22 children were killed in Gaza early Wednesday in a punishing series of Israeli airstrikes across Gaza, according to local hospitals and health officials.
The strikes killed at least 60 people in total, Gaza's Health Ministry reported, including 10 people in the southern city of Khan Younis.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday there is “no way” Israel will halt its war in Gaza even if a deal is reached to release more hostages.
In comments released by Netanyahu's office from a visit to wounded soldiers the previous day, the prime minister said Israeli forces were just days away from a promised escalation of force and would enter Gaza “with great strength to complete the mission. ... It means destroying Hamas.”
Any ceasefire deal reached would be temporary, the prime minister said. If Hamas were to say they would release more hostages, “we’ll take them, and then we’ll go in. But there will be no way we will stop the war,” Netanyahu said. “We can make a ceasefire for a certain period of time, but we’re going to the end.”
Netanyahu's comments are likely to complicate talks on a new ceasefire that had seemed to gain momentum after Hamas released the last living American hostage on Monday in a gesture to US President Donald Trump, who is visiting the region.
