Middle East crisis live: Israel cannot use aid to Gaza as ‘bargaining chip’, Biden warns as he unveils plan for aid pier

In State of the Union address, US president tells Israeli leadership protecting civilians in Gaza ‘has to be a priority’

• Full report: Biden announces US will build pier for aid on Gaza shore
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Israel will not give in to international pressure to stall an attack on the southern Gaza city of Rafah and will continue its bloody offensive against Hamas, said Benjamin Netanyahu.

“There is international pressure and it’s growing, but … we need to stand together against the attempts to stop the war,” the prime minister told a military graduation ceremony in southern Israel, saying that Israel’s forces would operate against Hamas all through the Gaza Strip “including Rafah, the last Hamas stronghold”.