JERUSALEM — Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on Wednesday for unity at the beginning of the month, saying the country’s future depended on how it handled the ongoing conflict with Hamas.
In an interview with Israel’s Army Radio, Netanyahu said there was no longer any question of an Israeli victory against Hamas and urged Israelis to embrace unity.
Netanyahu’s remarks came days after the Israeli military said it had killed two militants in the Gaza Strip, one a Palestinian.
Israel says it is targeting the Hamas-run enclave’s rocket launchers.
But the prime minister said that unity in the fight against the Islamic State group was vital and that there were times when the country could have remained divided, but had to make a choice.
“I don’t believe that we should divide the country,” he said.
“I believe that the whole country has to be united.
I don’t see how that would be a bad thing.
We need to understand each other.”
Israel and Hamas have been locked in a four-week conflict in the Palestinian territories that has left more than 2,000 Palestinians dead.
Hamas has said it launched its rockets in retaliation to Israeli airstrikes on the coastal enclave, which have killed dozens of Israeli civilians.
Israel has also been criticized by U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres for failing to hold a peace conference in Cairo and has not held a formal reconciliation meeting.
Israel’s new military chief said on Wednesday that Israel’s military was taking a “fresh approach” to the conflict, calling for restraint, restraint and restraint.
In his interview, Netanyahu did not address the Gaza crisis directly, but said he wanted to emphasize that the conflict was not over.
Israel is under international pressure to end the conflict and has repeatedly called for a cease-fire to be implemented.
Israelis are protesting in the streets of Jerusalem and the West Bank over the continuing military offensive, which has left at least 1,100 Palestinians dead and over 200,000 people displaced.
