Netanyahu rejects US push for Palestinian state

Almost 25,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, and 85% of the strip's population displaced.

The hope in many circles is that the current crisis could force the warring parties back to diplomacy, as the only viable alternative to endless cycles of violence. But from Netanyahu's comments, his intention appears quite the opposite.

During Thursday's news conference, he said Israel must have security control over all land west of the River Jordan, which would include the territory of any future Palestinian state.

"This is a necessary condition, and it conflicts with the idea of (Palestinian) sovereignty. What to do? I tell this truth to our American friends, and I also stopped the attempt to impose a reality on us that would harm Israel's security," he said.

According to BBC, Netanyahu has spent much of his political career opposing Palestinian statehood, boasting just last month that he was proud to have prevented its establishment, so his latest remarks come as no surprise.

But the very public rebuttal of Washington's diplomatic push, and determination to stay the current military course, show the chasm widening with Israel's western allies.

Since the 7 October attacks - the worst in Israel's history, when Hamas gunmen killed about 1,300 Israelis and took some 240 hostage - the US has supported its right to defend itself.

But as the death toll in Gaza has grown, and the scenes of horror there have abounded, Western governments have called for Israeli restraint.

The White House has repeatedly tried to influence Israel's military policy: urging more precision-guided weapons rather than the blanket air strikes; discouraging a ground offensive; and calling for a two-state solution, with a role for the Palestinian Authority in post-conflict Gaza.