Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will not support any idea suggesting a future Palestinian state, countering U.S. President Joe Biden comments this week that a Palestinian state is the only realistic road to peace.
The US made calls to scale back Israel’s military offensive in the Gaza Strip or take steps toward the establishment of a Palestinian state after the war, prompting Netanyahu to publicly disagree with his country’s long term ally in the open.
Israeli offensives in Gaza have moved deeper into the southern city of Khan Younis, pounding areas near the largest hospital still functioning in the enclave. Many Palestinian women and children have been killed by several bombs targeted at residential areas and public institutions.
Israeli officials say 1,139 people were killed in the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attacks in southern Israel. Those killed in the deadly Hamas attacks on Israel were 695 Israeli civilians including 36 children.
Hamas Militant fighters also took some 240 hostages during the attack, and 136 are still in Gaza according to a statement by Israeli foreign ministry adviser Tal Becker.
Palestinian authorities say at least 24,620 people have been killed and some 61,830 people wounded in Israeli strikes on Gaza since October 7, 2023.
It is unlikely that Israel will ever support a post war a sovereign state in Gaza, as it seeks to continuously control the area and its people.
