Jerusalem, Dec 10 (EFE).- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked United States President Joe Biden on Sunday for the US’ veto of a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

Netanyahu also thanked Biden for the approval of a shipment of some 14,000 artillery shells to Israel, which should begin to arrive Sunday, the Israeli prime minister said at the start of a government cabinet meeting.

In a statement, Netanyahu said: “I greatly appreciate the correct stance that the US has taken in the UN Security Council” last week.

The Israeli prime minister also spoke by telephone over the weekend with the leaders of France and Germany, Emmanuel Macron and Olaf Scholz, respectively.

“The other countries need to understand that, on the one hand, it is impossible to support the elimination of Hamas while, on the other hand, calling for a halt to the war, which will prevent the elimination of Hamas,” Netanyahu said in his statement.

“Therefore, Israel will continue our just war to eliminate Hamas and achieve the other goals of the war that we have set,” he added.

Netanyahu insisted that the fighting in Gaza continues “in full force” and that “justice is on our side,” as Israel is “united as a people and as a country, and there is no force that can prevent us from doing the right thing.”

“The war continues with even more force and intensity in northern Gaza and in the south, to achieve all its goals: the elimination of Hamas, the return of all our abductees and the promise that Gaza will never again be a threat to Israel,” he said.

The prime minister also pledged the rapid reconstruction of the communities adjoining the Gaza Strip, which were destroyed by Hamas in its Oct. 7 attack, with investments in agriculture, education, employment, welfare and assistance to evacuees. EFE

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