Israel rejects calls for ceasefire at major UN meeting and vows to destroy Hamas

Foreign minister Eli Cohen also dismissed calls for “proportionality” in the country’s response to Hamas’s surprise attacks on Israel on October 7 which killed 1,400 people

Tue, 24 Oct, 2023 - 21:01

Edith M Lederer, Associated Press

Israel has vowed again to destroy Hamas, rejecting calls from the United Nations chief, the Palestinians and many countries at a high-level UN meeting for a ceasefire, and declaring that the war in Gaza is not only its war but “the war of the free world”.

Foreign minister Eli Cohen also dismissed calls for “proportionality” in the country’s response to Hamas’s surprise attacks on Israel on October 7 which killed 1,400 people and has since led to more than 5,700 Palestinian deaths in the Gaza Strip, according to its Health Ministry.