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Israel's Prime Minister Says Gaza War Could Be 'Prolonged'

In the morgue of Gaza's Shifa hospital, Palestinian relatives mourn following an explosion that reportedly killed at least 10 people Monday, nine of them said to be children.
Adel Hana
/
AP
In the morgue of Gaza's Shifa hospital, Palestinian relatives mourn following an explosion that reportedly killed at least 10 people Monday, nine of them said to be children.

Despite calls from the United Nations for a cease-fire, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned his country to prepare for a "prolonged" war.

Netanyahu made the comments during a televised address on Monday. As NBC News reports, he also defended Israel's offensive in Gaza as just.

"We will continue to act aggressively and responsibly until the mission is completed to protect our citizens, soldiers and children," Netanyahu added.

With that, here's what you need to know as the conflict enters its 22nd day:

-- The Death Toll:

Israel had its deadliest day on Monday. NPR's Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson reports that at least five soldiers guarding a kibbutz were killed by Hamas militants who used tunnels to burrow into Israel.

According to aNew York Times count, that brings total Israeli deaths to 51.

The death toll in Gaza also keeps climbing: It stands at more than 1,110 people; 15 people were killed overnight.

-- Gaza's Only Power Plant Hit:

Reporting from Gaza, NPR's Emily Harris said last night brought the "longest, loudest and closest attacks so far."

At least one shell struck Gaza's only power plant, the head of Gaza's electricity company told Emily.

"It started a blaze that destroyed the storage tanks," Emily tells us. "He says the plant is no longer producing. Combined with downed lines from Israel, Gazan homes are getting something around less than four hours of electricity a day. This affects water as water needs pumps."

-- A Stunning Time-Lapse:

BuzzFeed's Sheera Frankel describes the video below like this: "Time lapse shows entire neighborhood in Gaza being flattened by air strikes over the course of one hour."

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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Eyder Peralta is NPR's East Africa correspondent based in Nairobi, Kenya.