Gaza war: Netanyahu pledges to stick to 'war goals' after eight soldiers were killed in Rafah

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday (June 15) pledged to stick to his war goals in the Gaza Strip, just hours after eight Israeli soldierswere killed in a blast in the Gaza.

In a speech, Prime Minister Netanyahu expressed his deep sorrow over the deaths, and described Hamas as“loathsome and murderous.”

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The soldiers were members of acombat engineering unit.

“Despite the heavy and staggering cost, we must stick to the goals of the war: destroying the military and governmental capabilities of Hamas, returning all our abductees, making sure that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel, and returning our residents safely to their homes – both in the north and in the south,” Netanyahu said.

The deaths of the eight soldiers were also condemned by other Israeli ministers including Yoav Gallant and Israel Katz.

Lapid hits out at Netanyahu

Netanyahu's remarks were criticised by opposition leader Yair Lapid, who accused the prime minister of prioritising political gains over national unity.

At an anti-government rally in Tel Aviv, Lapidoffered his condolences to the families of the eight soldiers killed in Tal al-Sultan before criticising Netanyahu’s response to a previous incident involving the deaths of four soldiers earlier this week.

Lapid said that when the four soldiers were killed, "...we were in the Knesset, voting on the conscription law. The whole Knesset already knew."

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"We were all in a difficult, depressed mood, then we looked up and saw that there was one person who didn’t feel that way (Netanyahu); we saw him smile,” the opposition leader said.

“That smile will bury his political career. This smile will remove him from our lives,” he added.

Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City suburbs kill 15

The killing of the eight soldiers came as Israel launched airstrikeson two houses in Gaza City suburbs.

Citing residents, a report by the news agency Reuters on Saturday said that at least 15 people were killed in these strikes.

Four others were killed in separate attacks in the south, medics said.

Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing developments on the Israel-Palestine conflict after the Hamas attacks. However, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos, and videos.

(With inputs from agencies)