By JENNIFER PELTZ, ADAM GELLER and FARNOUSH AMIRI Associated Press
Updated
Encircled by critics and protesters at the United Nations, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told fellow world leaders that Israel "must finish the job" against Hamas in Gaza. He gave a defiant speech despite growing international isolation over his refusal to end the devastating war in Gaza and said Israel wouldn't buckle under the pressure. He spoke after dozens of delegates from multiple nations walked out of the U.N. General Assembly hall en masse as he began speaking. Responding to countries' recent decisions to recognize Palestinian statehood, Netanyahu said it would encourage terrorism against Jews and others.
By JULIA FRANKEL and NASSER NASSER Associated Press
Israel has launched a major military operation in the occupied West Bank that has killed at least 10 Hamas militants. Israel said on Wednesday the operation is aimed at preventing attacks on Israeli civilians. Palestinian health officials say the operations into Jenin and Tulkarem have blocked access to hospitals and ripped up roads and infrastructure. Israel has carried out near-daily raids across the West Bank since Hamas' Oct. 7 attack out of Gaza triggered the ongoing war there. The Palestinian Health Ministry says over 600 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank since the war in Gaza began.
