Israel-Gaza war: Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel paying 'heavy price'
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the Gaza war has come at a "very heavy price" for his side.
The military says 14 more soldiers have been killed in the Palestinian territory since Friday, bringing the total of the ground assault to 153.
Saturday was one of its deadliest days - but Mr Netanyahu said his forces had "no choice" but to keep fighting.
Meanwhile, the health ministry in Gaza - run by Hamas - says another 166 people were killed in the last day.
More than 20,000 people have been killed - mostly women and children, and 54,000 injured in Gaza since 7 October, the ministry says.
Remarking on the latest Israeli troop deaths, Mr Netanyahu said: "This is a difficult morning, after a very difficult day of fighting in Gaza."
But he said his forces would continue with "full force until the end", reiterating his goals of eliminating Hamas and ensuring the safe return of hostages held in Gaza.
"Let it be clear: this will be a long war," the Israeli prime minister added.
The military later said it had killed more than 8,000 Palestinian fighters during its campaign to date - in remarks quoted by the Reuters news agency.
The Israeli operation began after Hamas fighters crossed from Gaza into southern Israel on 7 October, killing 1,200 people and taking about 240 hostages.
Israel insists that it takes steps to avoid civilian casualties, and blames Hamas for embedding itself in densely-populated areas.
US President Joe Biden - a key ally of Mr Netanyahu - emphasised the "critical need" to protect civilian lives during a call with the Israeli prime minister on Saturday, the White House said.
Mr Biden told reporters that he had not asked for a ceasefire in the call. Both men believe such a move would benefit Hamas.
On Friday, the UN Security Council approved a resolution demanding large-scale aid deliveries to Gaza - but this, too, stopped short of calling for a ceasefire between the two warring sides.
Talks held in Egypt earlier this week designed to secure a fresh truce between Israel and Hamas have so far failed to deliver results.
A Palestinian official familiar with the ceasefire negotiations told the BBC that Egypt presented a new three-stage plan that would begin with a two-week humanitarian truce - which could be extended - during which Hamas would release 40 hostages and Israel would release 120 Palestinian prisoners.
This stage would be followed by the formation of an independent body to deal with humanitarian relief and reconstruction, as well as a comprehensive ceasefire and an exchange of prisoners.
Image source, EPA
Image caption,
Many Palestinians have been forced to flee northern Gaza to the territory's south
The Israeli military has kept up its bombing campaign in Gaza - ordering civilians to flee. The UN said the latest evacuation order affected 150,000 people in the middle of the territory.
On Saturday, Israel said
700 Palestinian militants had been arrested during its ground offensive to date.
It also said one of its fighter jets had killed Hassah Atrash, a man it accused of smuggling weapons into Gaza to arm Hamas. There has been no confirmation from Hamas.
The Israeli military has said it has almost full operational control of the north of the Gaza Strip, and is stepping up operations elsewhere.
A spokesman has said troops are entering new Hamas strongholds in southern areas.
Briefing his cabinet on Sunday, Mr Netanyahu denied suggestions the US president had persuaded him against further expanding his military operation.
The Wall Street Journal had reported that Mr Netanyahu had been talked out of attacking Hamas's ally in Lebanon, the Hezbollah group.
A government spokesperson told the BBC "the situation in the north... is intolerable" and that Israel was "trying to deter Hezbollah from dragging us into a war".
"We will continue making the necessary preparations to repel this threat from the northern border," he added.
The Israeli PM says his troops will keep fighting - after one of their deadliest days of the conflict.
www.bbc.com
Thousands March in Rabat Demanding End to Morocco-Israel Ties
RABAT (Reuters) -Thousands of protesters staged one of the largest pro-Palestinian marches in Rabat on Sunday since the outbreak of the war in Gaza, demanding an end to Morocco's ties with Israel.
Protests against Israel's war in Gaza have repeatedly drawn thousands of people in Morocco since the conflict began more than two months ago, mostly led by pan-Arab and Islamist groups.
Sunday's march was co-organised by leftist groups and the outlawed but tolerated Al-Adl wal-Ihsan Islamists.
Most of the 10,000 protesters appeared to be Islamists with men marching separately from women, waving Palestinian flags and holding placards reading "resistance till victory", "stop Moroccan government normalization with Israel" and "free Palestine".
Related:
A Timeline of the Israel-Palestinian Conflict
Morocco agreed to strengthen ties with Israel in 2020, under a deal brokered by the U.S. administration under then President Donald Trump that also included Washington recognising Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed territory of Western Sahara.
Protesters in Sunday's march also called for a boycott of brands they accuse of supporting Israel.
Israel vowed to annihilate Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007, after Hamas militants burst across the border fence on Oct. 7 and went on a rampage through Israeli towns, killing 1,200 people and seizing 240 hostages.
Since then, Gaza's health authorities say more than 20,000 people have been confirmed killed in Israeli strikes and a ground offensive, with thousands more missing and presumed dead under the rubble.
Despite their policy of normalising ties with Israel, Moroccan authorities have continued to back the creation of a Palestinian state and have urged a ceasefire in Gaza and the protection of all civilians there.
Although Morocco and Israel have not yet completed the process of setting up full embassies in each other's countries as they agreed, they have moved closer together, signing a defence cooperation pact.
(Reporting by Ahmed Eljechtimi; Editing by Alex Richardson)
Copyright 2023 Thomson Reuters.
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