Israeli PM says offensive in Gaza to continue

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that the Israeli air strikes and shells in the Gaza Strip "will continue as long as necessary," amid international efforts to broker a truce between Israel and Hamas, reported Xinhua.

In a televised statement in the defense ministry in Tel Aviv, Netanyahu downplayed international pressures on Israel to agree to a truce that will quell the escalation, which has so far cost the lives of at least 188 Palestinians in Gaza and 10 people in Israel.

"We receive a very serious support, first and foremost, from the United States," the prime minister said and thanked U.S. President Joe Biden.

According to a military statement, Hamas-led militant groups in the Gaza Strip have fired at least 3,000 rockets at southern Israel as well as Tel Aviv and other cities in central Israel since tension between Israel and Hamas started flaring up on Monday.