Israel-Hamas War Video: Hamas attack aimed to deter Israel-Middle East peace expansion, Netanyahu says amid warning of ‘long war’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the attack on Israel by Hamas gunmen aimed to prevent the expansion of its peaceful relations in the Middle East, and asked Britain to keep supporting the Gaza counter-offensive. “We were on the cusp of expanding that peace, and destroying that move was one of the reasons why this action was taken,” Netanyahu told visiting British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. “This is our darkest hour,” he added.

His statement comes hours after a Hamas report claimed an Israeli air strike killed Jehad Mheisen, the head of Hamas-led National Security Forces, and his family members, in Gaza.

The Israeli military, meanwhile, reported that at least 203 people are being held hostage in Gaza after the Hamas attack on October 7. Further, at least 306 soldiers are among the 1,400 Israelis killed in the conflict. Over 4,800 Israelis and Gazans have been killed since October 7.

Meanwhile, after US President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is in Israel today as part of diplomatic efforts to stop the crisis from worsening.

Israeli airstrikes on Gaza continued, and seven children were reportedly killed after an airstrike slammed into their home. A strike on a hospital in Gaza a day earlier killed hundreds of women, children, and civilians and shocked the world.