International pressure on Israel, which, in recent days, has reached unprecedented levels since the war in Gaza began in October 2023, has not seemed likely to deter Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. While French President Emmanuel Macron deemed the Israeli government's behavior "unacceptable," Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez declared that his country does "not trade with a genocidal state" and even Donald Trump has begun distancing himself from Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister is determined not to deviate from his set plan.

On Monday, May 12, when he agreed to send an Israeli delegation to Qatar to resume talks with Hamas, Netanyahu said that "negotiations will only take place under fire." He has kept his word on this: According to Gaza's civil defense organization, nearly 80 Palestinians were killed under Israeli bombings on May 14, and by Thursday morning, the death toll from the strikes had already reached 50 dead individuals. According to the independent Israeli news website HaMakom, over 80% of the nearly 3,000 Palestinians killed since Israel broke the ceasefire in Gaza on March 18 were civilians.

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