TEL AVIV, October 31. /TASS/. Israel is not considering a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and intends to continue with its military operation against the radical Palestinian group Hamas, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

"I want to make clear Israel’s position regarding a ceasefire. Just as the United States would not agree to a ceasefire after the bombing of Pearl Harbor or after the terrorist attack of 9/11, Israel will not agree to a cessation of hostilities with Hamas after the horrific attacks of October 7th," he told a press conference.

According to Netanyahu, "Calls for a ceasefire are calls for Israel to surrender to Hamas, to surrender to terrorism, to surrender to barbarism. That will not happen." "The Bible says that there is a time for peace and a time for war. This is a time for war - a war for our common future," he added.

"Israel did not start this war. Israel did not want this war. But Israel will win this war," the prime minister noted.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 when militants from the Gaza-based Palestinian radical group Hamas staged a surprise incursion into Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip. Hamas described its attack as a response to the aggressive actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. In response, Israel has announced a total blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to 2.3 million Palestinians, and has begun delivering air strikes on the enclave and certain parts of Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are underway in the West Bank as well.