By Halime Afra Aksoy
JERUSALEM (AA) – Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has conveyed to US President Joe Biden that his country is determined to continue military operations against Gaza, Israeli sources said on Tuesday.
According to a statement issued by the Israeli prime minister’s office, Netanyahu thanked Biden for continuing American support to Israel.
“He conveyed Biden that Israel is determined to achieve goals of the military operation to reassure the security of its citizens,” the statement added.
On the other hand, the White House said Biden expressed his support for a ceasefire during the phone call he made with Netanyahu.
The death toll from the ongoing Israeli attacks on the besieged Gaza Strip has risen to 212, the Palestinian Health Ministry said on Monday.
The grim figure includes 61 children, 35 women, and 16 elderly people, the ministry said in a statement, while 1,400 people have been injured during the offensive.
The Israeli military has staged airstrikes across the Gaza Strip since May 10, leaving behind a massive trail of destruction across the seaside territory.
Ten Israelis have also been killed in Palestinian rocket fire from the Gaza Strip into Israel.
The recent tensions that started in East Jerusalem during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan spread to Gaza as a result of Israeli assaults on worshippers in the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. It annexed the entire city in 1980 in a move never recognized by the international community.
* Writing by Ahmet Gencturk in Ankara
