Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a Memorial ceremony for Ethiopians who died on their journey to Israel, at Mount Herzl, on May 10, 2021. Photo: Marc Israel Sellem/POOL

i24 News – Israel will continue to respond to attacks and will protect its citizens from Hamas terrorists, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said late on Saturday.

In his press conference, he accused the Gaza terrorists of using civilians as human shields and stressed that Israel itself was making efforts to avoid harming innocents.

He said that the ongoing operation in Gaza will continue for as long as necessary to achieve the main goal of ceasing rocket attacks into Israel.

The PM added that there were still “a few” days of fighting ahead and warned Hamas leadership that nobody was invulnerable to Israel’s wrath.

Netanyahu also addressed the riots in Israel, warning that the country’s laws were the same for Israeli Arabs and Jews and that anyone acting as a terrorist will be treated as such.

He vowed to bring calm to the Israeli streets and called for unity and vigilance amid the turmoil.

Netanyahu added that while not all Israeli Arabs were engaged in the current unrest, a “considerable” group within the community was involved in the rioting.

Netanyahu’s remarks come as Israel continues to fight off the Gaza-based terrorist factions and work to quell the unrest in mixed Israeli Arab and Jewish cities.