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Netanyahu's show of strength after Biden's snub: ‘Will stand alone if…’
Netanyahu addressed Israel soon after United States President Joe Biden said that the US would not provide offensive weapons for assault on Rafah.
Israel prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, defying the international pressure to halt the Gaza war, has said that his country will "stand alone" against Hamas if it is "forced to stand alone".
"As the Prime Minister of Israel, the one and only Jewish State, I pledge here today, from Jerusalem, on this Holocaust Remembrance Day, if Israel is forced to stand alone, Israel will stand alone. But we know we are not alone, because countless decent people around the world support our just cause. And I say to you we will defeat our genocidal enemies," he said.
Netanyahu addressed the nation soon after United States President Joe Biden said that the US would not provide offensive weapons to Israel for its assault on Rafah in the ongoing war against Hamas.
Read more: Israel hits Rafah despite US warning on arms transfers
In a fiery speech marking Israel's annual Holocaust memorial day, Netanyahu said that no nation stepped up to help their country when Jewish people were left defenseless 80 years ago. “Eighty years ago, in the Holocaust, the Jewish people were totally defenceless against those who sought our destruction. No nation came to our aid,” he said.
"Today, we again confront enemies bent on our destruction. I say to the leaders of the world, no amount of pressure, no decision by any international forum will stop Israel from defending itself," he said.
Netanyahu added, "If we have to stand alone, we will stand alone. If we need to, we will fight with our fingernails. But we have much more than fingernails."
Read more: Thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters march in Malmo against Israel's Eurovision participation
Over the past week, thousands of residents in Rafah have received phone calls, SMS messages, air-dropped flyers, and media broadcasts urging them to evacuate to humanitarian zones outside the city, likely before a major attack by the Israeli military.
On May 5, Hamas fired a barrage of rockets from the area of the Rafah border crossing and near an area where displaced Palestinians were sheltering in tents.
(With inputs from ANI)
