(JTA) — Israel is considering all options and will not stop targeting Hamas whatever the international pressure, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
On the fourth day of the latest Israel-Gaza war, Netanyahu in a Friday evening briefing with reporters at Israel’s Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv said he had had good conversations with world leaders, including President Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin, as well as European and Canadian leaders.
“I tell them all one simple thing, no country would allow shooting at its citizens without a tough response,” he said. “No international pressure will stop us from hitting terrorist targets.”
Netanyahu would not say if he would launch a ground invasion, although he suggested it was not out of the question.
“We are considering all options and we are ready for all options,” he said in response to reporters’ questions about the prospects of ground action. “That is what I instructed IDF, and that it is what it is ready for.”
Israel launched air strikes Tuesday after an intensification of rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip.
Israel so far has carried out more than a thousand air strikes, while Hamas and other groups have launched hundreds of rocket attacks on Israeli targets, including many urban areas.
The Israeli air strikes have killed at least a hundred Palestinians, including many civilians and a number of children, according to Palestinian medical workers. No Israelis have been killed.
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