Netanyahu says he has told US he opposes Palestinian state in any postwar scenario

JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday rejected U.S. calls to scale back Israel’s military offensive in the Gaza Strip or take steps toward the establishment of a Palestinian state after the war, drawing an immediate scolding from the White House.

“We obviously see it differently,” White House national security spokesman John Kirby said.

Netanyahu spoke just a day after Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Israel would never have “genuine security” without a pathway toward Palestinian independence. Earlier this week, the White House also announced that it was the “right time” for Israel to lower the intensity of its military offensive in Gaza.

In a nationally televised news conference, Netanyahu struck a defiant tone, repeatedly saying that Israel would not halt its offensive until it realizes its goals of destroying Gaza’s Hamas terrorist group and bringing home all remaining hostages held by Hamas.

He rejected claims by a growing chorus of Israeli critics that those goals are not achievable, vowing to press ahead for many months. “We will not settle for anything short of an absolute victory,” Netanyahu said.

Israel launched the offensive after an unprecedented cross-border terrorist attack by Hamas on Oct. 7 that killed 1,200 people and took some 250 others hostage. Roughly 130 hostages are believed by Israel to remain in Hamas terrorist captivity. The war has stoked tensions across the region, threatening to ignite other conflicts.

Israel’s assault has killed nearly 25,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza.

The United States has said the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority, which governs semi-autonomous zones in the West Bank, should be “revitalized” and return to Gaza. Hamas ousted the authority from Gaza in 2007.

The U.S. has also called for steps toward the establishment of a Palestinian state. The Palestinians seek Gaza, the West Bank and east Jerusalem for their state. Those areas were captured by Israel in 1967.

Speaking Wednesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Blinken said the two-state solution was the best way to protect Israel, unify moderate Arab countries and isolate Israel’s arch-enemy, Iran.

Iran has long vowed to destroy Israel.

Without a “pathway to a Palestinian state,” he said, Israel would not “get genuine security.”

At the same conference, Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said the kingdom is ready to establish full relations with Israel as part of a larger political agreement. “But that can only happen through peace for the Palestinians, through a Palestinian state,” he said.

Netanyahu repeated his longstanding opposition to a two-state solution. He said a Palestinian state would become a launching pad for attacks on Israel.

He said Israel “must have security control over the entire territory west of the Jordan River,” adding: “That collides with the idea of sovereignty. What can we do?”

“This truth I tell to our American friends, and I put the brakes on the attempt to coerce us to a reality that would endanger the state of Israel,” he said.

The comments prompted an immediate rebuke from the White House. Kirby said that President Joe Biden would “not stop working” toward a two-state solution.

Medicines bound for hostages enter Gaza

There was no word Thursday on whether medicines that entered the territory as part of a deal brokered by France and Qatar had been distributed to dozens hostages with chronic illnesses who are being held by Hamas terrorists.

The agreement was the first to be brokered between the warring sides since November. The deal includes large shipments of medicine, food and humanitarian aid for Palestinian civilians as well.

Qatar confirmed late Wednesday that the medicine had entered Gaza, but it was not yet clear if it had been distributed to the hostages, who are being held in secret locations, including underground bunkers.

The International Committee for the Red Cross, which helped facilitate the hostage releases, said it was not involved in distributing the medicine.

Fighting in Gaza

Hamas has continued to launch rockets into Israel. It says it will not release any more hostages until there is a permanent cease-fire, something Israel and the United States, its top ally, have ruled out.

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have heeded Israeli evacuation orders and packed into southern Gaza.

Israel has continued to strike what it says are terrorist targets in all parts of Gaza.

Israel blames the high civilian death toll on Hamas because it fights in dense residential areas. Israel says its forces have killed roughly 9,000 terrorists and that 193 of its own soldiers have been killed since the Gaza ground offensive began.

On Thursday, the Israeli army said it had destroyed “the heart” of Hamas’ weapons manufacturing industry near a major north-south road in central Gaza. It said the complex included weapons factories and an extensive tunnel network used to ship arms throughout Gaza.

War reverberates across region

The war has rippled across the Middle East, with Iranian-backed groups attacking U.S. and Israeli targets. Low-intensity fighting between Israel and Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon threatens to erupt into all-out war, and Houthi rebels in Yemen continue to target international shipping despite United States-led airstrikes.

The Israeli military said it fired an interceptor at a “suspicious aerial target” — likely a drone or missile — approaching over the Red Sea on Thursday, triggering air raid sirens in the southern city of Eilat. The Houthis have launched drones and missiles toward Israel that mostly fell short or were intercepted and shot down.

Meanwhile, Iran has launched a series of missile attacks targeting what it described as an Israeli spy base in Iraq and terrorist bases in Syria.

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Jobain reported from Rafah, Gaza Strip, and Jeffery reported from London. Associated Press writer Bassem Mroue in Beirut contributed to this report.