Israel Rejects Cease-Fire, Vows to Continue Gaza Offensive

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected international calls for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, saying Israels military operation will continue until all Hamas militants are disarmed.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected international calls for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, saying Israel's battle against Hamas militants will continue with full force. Netanyahu said a cease-fire would be possible only if all 239 hostages held by militants in Gaza are released.

The Israeli leader also insisted that after the war, now entering its sixth week, Gaza would be demilitarized and Israel would retain security control there. This position appears to run counter to post-war scenarios floated by Israel's closest ally, the United States, which has said it opposes an Israeli reoccupation of the territory.

Mounting Pressure on Israel

Pressure was growing on Israel after frantic doctors at Gaza's largest hospital said the last generator had run out of fuel, causing the death of a premature baby, another child in an incubator, and four other patients. Thousands of war-wounded, medical staff, and displaced civilians were caught in the fighting.

In recent days, fighting near Shifa and other hospitals in northern Gaza has intensified, and supplies have run out. The Israeli military has alleged, without providing evidence, that Hamas has established command posts in and underneath hospitals, using civilians as human shields. Medical staff at Shifa have denied such claims and accused Israel of harming civilians with indiscriminate attacks.

Desperation at Shifa Hospital

Shifa hospital director Mohammed Abu Selmia said the facility lost power Saturday. Medical devices stopped. Patients, especially those in intensive care, started to die, he said by phone, with gunfire and explosions in the background. He said Israeli troops were shooting at anyone outside or inside the hospital and prevented movement between buildings.

Israel's military confirmed clashes outside the hospital, but Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari denied Shifa was under siege. He said troops will assist Sunday in moving babies treated there and said, "we are speaking directly and regularly with hospital staff."

Hamas Vows to Continue Fight

The spokesman of the Hamas military wing said militants were ambushing Israeli troops and vowed that Israel would face a long battle. The Qassam Brigades spokesman, who goes by Abu Obaida, acknowledged in audio aired on Al-Jazeera that the fight is disproportionate but it is terrifying the strongest force in the region.

Israel's military has said soldiers have encountered hundreds of Hamas fighters in underground facilities, schools, mosques, and clinics during the fighting. Israel has said a key goal of the war is to crush Hamas, which has ruled Gaza for 16 years.

Growing Differences with Allies

Following Hamas's deadly October 7 attack on Israel, in which at least 1,200 people were killed, Israel's allies have defended the country's right to protect itself. But now into the second month of war, there are growing differences over how Israel should conduct its fight.

The US has been pushing for temporary pauses that would allow for the wider distribution of badly needed aid to civilians in the besieged territory where conditions are increasingly dire. However, Israel has only agreed to brief daily periods during which civilians can flee the area of ground combat in northern Gaza and head south on foot along the territory's main north-south artery.

Evacuations and Ongoing Attacks

Since these evacuation windows were first announced a week ago, more than 150,000 civilians have fled the north, according to UN monitors. On Saturday, the military announced a new evacuation window, saying civilians could use the central road and a coastal road.

On the main road, a stream of people fled southward, clutching children and bags, many on foot and some on donkey-drawn carts. One man pushed two children in a wheelbarrow. I am diabetic, and I have blood pressure issues. Where to go, and what do they want from us? said Yehia al-Kafarnah, one fleeing resident.

Palestinian civilians and rights advocates have pushed back against Israel's portrayal of the southern evacuation zones as relatively safe. They note that Israeli bombardment has continued across Gaza, including airstrikes in the south that Israel says target Hamas leaders but that have also killed women and children.

Mounting Casualties

More than 11,070 Palestinians, two-thirds of them women and minors, have been killed since the war began, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza, which does not differentiate between civilian and militant deaths. About 2,700 people have been reported missing and are thought to be possibly trapped or dead under the rubble.

At least 1,200 people have been killed in Israel, mainly in the initial Hamas attack, Israeli officials say. The military on Saturday confirmed the deaths of five reserve soldiers; 46 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza since the ground offensive began. Nearly 240 people abducted by Hamas from Israel remain captive.

About 250,000 Israelis have been forced to evacuate from communities near Gaza and along the northern border with Lebanon, where Israeli forces and Hezbollah militants have traded fire repeatedly. Hezbollah is dragging Lebanon into a possible war, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said after meeting with soldiers stationed along the border.