Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pushed back against U.S. President Joe Biden's call for "de-escalation" in Gaza, vowing to continue the attacks that have left hundreds dead. 

Netanyahu said he is "determined to continue this operation until its aim is met."

In a phone call on Wednesday morning, Biden told Netanyahu he expected to see a "significant de-escalation" on the way to a ceasefire in the Gaza conflict, according to the White House.

Netanyahu's strong statement is the first public rift between the allies since the fighting began last week and could complicate international efforts to reach a ceasefire.

Following a visit to military headquarters, Netanyahu said he "greatly appreciates the support of the American president," but said Israel will carry on "to return the calm and security to you, citizens of Israel."

 

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'Conquer them or deter them'

Netanyahu's response marks a day of diplomatic maneuvers all the while the bombardment of the densely populated Gaza and the rocket attacks on Israel by Palestinian militants continue. 

Earlier on Wednesday, the Israeli leader told foreign ambassadors in Tel Aviv that he had not ruled out "conquering Hamas."

"There are only two ways that you can deal with them [Hamas]: You can either conquer them, and that's always an open possibility, or you can deter them. And we are engaged right now in forceful deterrence, but I have to say we don't rule out anything." 

Netanyahu said there was "no time frame" to end the conflict, explaining that Israel's offensive was to deter Hamas and other Palestinian militants. An Israeli military spokesman acknowledged that with an estimated 12,000 missiles and mortars in the group's Gaza arsenal, "they still have enough rockets to fire."

Two Thai workers were killed and seven people were wounded in a rocket strike on Tuesday on an Israeli farm just over the Gaza border, police said. Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, and The Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine claimed responsibility.

 

Signs of escalation 

Militants in Lebanon fired a barrage of rockets into northern Israel on Wednesday. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, while fears grow that it signals a new front in a growing and bloody conflict. 

The Israeli military said some 50 rockets were fired overnight from Gaza, with sirens sounding in the coastal city of Ashdod, south of Tel Aviv, and in communities closer to the Gaza border. There were no reports of damage or injuries.

Gaza medical officials say 217 Palestinians have been killed, including 63 children and more than 1,400 wounded since the fighting began on May 10. Israeli authorities say 12 people have been killed in Israel, including two children.

In a 25-minute attack overnight, 52 Israeli aircraft struck Hamas tunnels in the southern Gaza Strip, the Israeli military said. It said 40 targets were hit in the operation.

Nearly 450 buildings in the Gaza Strip have been destroyed or badly damaged, including six hospitals and nine primary-care health centers, since this round of conflict began, the UN humanitarian agency said.

Some 48,000 of the 52,000 displaced had gone to 58 UN-run schools.

 

 

Israel said more than 3,450 rockets had been launched at it from Gaza, some falling short and others shot down by its Iron Dome air defences. It put the number of militants it has killed at about 160.

Hamas began firing rockets nine days ago in retaliation for what it said were Israeli rights abuses against Palestinians in Jerusalem during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

By taking the lead in confrontation with Israel over the sensitive issue of Jerusalem, Hamas also posed a challenge to its main rival, West Bank-based President Mahmoud Abbas, who last month cancelled a parliamentary election in which the group appeared likely to make gains.

These hostilities are the most serious between the militant group and Israel in years and in a departure from previous Gaza conflicts, have helped fuel street violence in Israeli cities between Jews and Arabs.

 

No breakthrough yet in diplomatic efforts 

France called on Tuesday for a UN Security Council resolution on the violence, as diplomats said the U.S. told the council a "public pronouncement right now" would not help calm the crisis.

"Our goal is to get to the end of this conflict. We are going to evaluate day by day what the right approach is. It continues to be that quiet, intensive behind-the-scenes discussions are tactically our approach at this time," White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Tuesday.

Egypt and UN mediators also stepped up diplomatic efforts, and the UN General Assembly will discuss the violence on Thursday.

Germany called for a ceasefire and offered more aid to help Palestinians before emergency European Union talks.

Clashes also flared in the occupied West Bank, where Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian who tried to attack them with a gun and explosives on Tuesday, the military said.

 

 

Another Palestinian was killed by Israeli forces at a West Bank protest, health officials said. The military said soldiers had come under fire, which wounded two of them, and shot back.

Israel's bombardment of Gaza, Ramadan clashes between police and worshippers at al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem and a court case by Israeli settlers to evict Palestinians from the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in Israel-annexed East Jerusalem have fueled the tension in the West Bank.

Israel's N12 TV news, quoting unidentified Palestinian sources, reported that Egypt, via "secret channels," had proposed that Israel-Gaza fighting end on Thursday morning.

Ezzat El-Reshiq, a member of Hamas's political bureau, who is based in Qatar, issued a statement on Tuesday saying reports that it had agreed to such a ceasefire were untrue.

"There has been no agreement reached over specific timings for a ceasefire," he said. "We confirm that efforts and contacts are serious and are continuing and the demands of our people are known and clear."

Despite claims from Netanyahu that victory was near, Amos Yadlin, a former Israeli military intelligence chief, said the picture was more complicated, citing civil unrest in Israel, mounting protests by Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and a trickle of rocket fire from Lebanon.