Netanyahu defends Israeli offensive in Gaza on U.S. television

Sunday marked the sixth day of an offensive that Palestinian officials said has killed at least 160 people. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rebuffed international calls for a cease-fire while defending his country’s offensive in Gaza during appearances on U.S. television on Sunday. Netanyahu appealed for sympathy for Israelis under siege from militant rockets as a warning siren followed by an all-clear signal punctuated his interview on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” He urged Americans to imagine that U.S. cities from the East Coast to Colorado, or 80 percent of the population, were under threat of rocket attack, with only 60 to 90 seconds to reach a bomb shelter.

Whether we’re at the beginning of the end or the end of the beginning, I’m not going to tell you that right now—because we face a very, very brutal terrorist enemy.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

Netanyahu’s television appearances came as thousands of Palestinians fled their homes in a Gaza town after Israel warned them to leave before threatened attacks on rocket-launching sites. Meanwhile, in Paris, several thousand demonstrators walked calmly through the streets behind a large banner that read “Total Support for the Struggle of the Palestinian People.” But clashes erupted at the end of the march on Bastille Square, with people throwing projectiles onto a cordon of police who responded with tear gas. French Jews reportedly fled for their safety.

There are missiles being launched by Hamas, but the Israeli response is disproportionate. They are attacking the civilian population and not Hamas officials.

Amid Hamadouch, 30, protester in Paris

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