Photo: Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks about the Israel-Hamas war during a press conference on November 11, 2023. (Marc Israel Sellem/POOL)

Defiant PM rejects international criticism, blasts Macron for accusing Jerusalem of bombing civilians; says PA can’t rule Gaza after war; Gallant rejects world’s “moral preaching”

The leaders in charge of directing Israel’s war in Gaza vowed Saturday to soldier on with the grinding military offensive aimed at vanquishing the Hamas terror group, pushing back at international pressure to slow down or halt it, and pledging to “stand firm against the world if necessary.”

In a joint press conference prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, defense minister Yoav Gallant and minister Benny Gantz rejected mounting international criticism over the civilian costs of the war, urging Western leaders to throw their support behind the Jewish state since its victory would mean victory for the entire free world as well.

Netanyahu slammed French president Emmanuel Macron over remarks he made castigating Israel a day earlier. He also indicated that Israel would oppose the return of the Palestinian Authority to Gaza following the war, a goal declaredly sought by Washington, lambasting it as an entity that educates children to eliminate Israel, supports terrorism and hasn’t condemned Hamas’s October 7 massacres which sparked the ongoing war. And he said Israel would retain overall security control in the enclave.

The pushback came after several countries over the weekend expressed concern over the deteriorating humanitarian situation and the civilian casualties in the Strip.

Friday US secretary of state Antony Blinken urged for more to be done to protect civilians in Gaza and ensure humanitarian aid reaches them, saying that “far too many Palestinians have been killed” during the war.

Macron said Friday that there was “no justification” for Israel’s alleged bombing of “these babies, these ladies, these old people,” reiterating his call for a ceasefire in Gaza and telling the BBC: “There is no reason for that and no legitimacy. So we do urge Israel to stop.”

In the Saturday evening press conference, Netanyahu urged worldwide backing for his opposition to a ceasefire that doesn’t include a return of the hundreds of hostages being held in Gaza by Palestinian terrorists, and called on Americans to join the demand for the destruction of Hamas which he said poses a danger to them, too. He said most Americans share that realization.

He noted in some countries there are those who are pressuring the leaders to push for a ceasefire, an apparent reference to mass pro-Palestinian demonstrations calling for such a move, such as a mass rally Saturday in London.

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