Dore Gold, an adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, took part in a testy exchange with Newsnight’s Kirsty Wark on Monday evening, repeatedly trying to emphasise that the IDF was in fact a compassionate institution, despite the Palestinian death toll topping more than 1,000 fatalities in the three weeks since the start of the recent offensive against Gaza.
The interview came on the same day that 8 children were killed in a park close to a refugee camp in Gaza city, an attack the Gazans blamed on the IDF and the Israelis blamed on “Gazan terrorists”.
Gold repeatedly highlighted the fact that the Israeli military warns Palestinians ahead of an impeding attack, at one point suggesting that Hamas tells local civilians not to leave their homes and indeed even pays Palestinians to stay in their homes.
Wark responding by demanding to know how many Gazan children have to die before Israel reaches a threshold and ends the attack.
On Monday Netanyahu told Israelis to prepare for a "prolonged campaign" in the Gaza Strip. "We need to be ready for a prolonged campaign," the PM said, adding: "We will continue to act aggressively and responsibly until the mission is completed to protect our citizens, soldiers and children."
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