Israel-Palestine conflict: 'Nothing will stop us,' Netanyahu says

• Israel's prime minister told soldiers neither diplomatic rebukes nor battlefield losses would alter his course

• An opinion poll suggests the conflict has boosted Hamas support in Gaza, and particularly the West Bank

• US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan scheduled to become the latest Biden administration to visit Israel on Thursday

• Bavarian state premier Markus Söder is also visiting Israel

Markus Söder begins his visit to Israel

Bavarian State Premier Markus Söder arrived in Israel on Wednesday, 13 December afternoon. He began his visit by meeting with Foreign Minister Eli Cohen.

Söder emphasised that his visit to Jerusalem is a clear signal. He said it was very important for him personally, but also for the Bavarian government, to show solidarity with Israel and the victims of the Hamas terror attacks on October 7.

Despite the United Nations' call for a cease-fire, Söder has supported Israel's actions against Hamas in Gaza.

"Of course we also sympathize with the people in the Gaza Strip, with the civilian victims," Söder said shortly before his departure from Munich.

"Nevertheless, we believe that Israel has a right to self-defense and that it is now necessary to give priority to security," he added.

On Thursday, 14 December Söder will hold talks with President Isaac Herzog. A visit to a kibbutz on the Gaza border and a new agreement with the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial are also planned, the state chancellery in Munich said.

Palestinian poll finds Hamas support rising, more so in West Bank

An opinion poll appears to show anger over the conflict's toll boosting Palestinian support for Hamas, particularly in the comparatively peaceful West Bank where Hamas does not have control.

Some 44% of respondents in the West Bank told the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research they supported Hamas, compared to just 12% three months earlier.

The change in Gaza was more muted, with 42% saying they supported Hamas against 38% three months before.

Meanwhile, a majority of respondents in both areas said they believed Hamas would emerge from the conflict with continued control over Gaza. A smaller majority also said this would be their preference, albeit with Gaza residents very divided on the question.

Fewer than one in 10 respondents said they believed Hamas fighters had committed war crimes like abducting or killing civilians in its October 7 attacks, despite the group's members spreading such footage from their body cameras themselves.

Satisfaction figures for Fatah and Palestinian Authority (PA) leader Mahmoud Abbas, already near rock bottom, plummeted to a 90% disapproval rating. Abbas and his administration is often criticised at home for perceived corruption and inefficiency.

The figures show how difficult the solution advocated by much of the international community — namely Abbas and the PA taking charge in Gaza with a view to resuming efforts towards a two-state solution — might be to achieve once fighting end.

Hamas' leader Ismael Haniyeh on Wednesday, 13 December said any future Palestinian solution not involving the group — seen by the US, EU and others as a terrorist organization — was a "delusion."

He said Hamas would be open for talks about ending Israel's campaign and "putting the Palestinian house in order both in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip."

Hamas is classified as a terrorist organisation by the US, Germany, EU and others.

'Nothing will stop us,' says Netanyahu amid international pressure

Leading Israeli officials have said "international pressures" will not halt their military campaign against Hamas in Gaza.

"We're continuing until the end, until victory, until Hamas is annihilated," Netanyahu told soldiers over the radio after the Israel Defense Force military reported 10 deaths in the space of 24 hours, its worst losses in a day since late October.

"I say this in the face of great pain but also in the face of international pressures. Nothing will stop us," the Israeli prime minister said.

This follows the overwhelming, but nonbinding, UN General Assembly vote calling for a humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza, which only 10 countries opposed.

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen also said on Wednesday,13 December that the country "would continue the war against Hamas with or without international support."

"A cease-fire at the current stage is a gift to the terrorist organization Hamas, and will allow it to return and threaten the residents of Israel," Cohen told a visiting diplomat, as quoted by his ministry.

Although Israel's closest ally, the United States, has continued to vote in its defense at the UN, even Biden administration officials have repeatedly and publicly urged Israel to do more to limit civilian casualties. Biden warned on Tuesday that the "indiscriminate bombing" of Gaza was causing Israel to lose international support.