Israeli Premier Voices Regret for Civilian Casualties, but Blames Hamas

Concerned about world opinion and accusations of possible war crimes, Mr. Netanyahu took the rare step of calling in the foreign news media to his office, where he made his first public remarks the day after a 72-hour cease-fire took effect and as talks for a more lasting solution got underway in Cairo.

An Israeli official said Israel would be willing to extend the cease-fire as long as it remained unconditional, reported the New York Times.

“Every civilian casualty is a tragedy, a tragedy of Hamas’s own making,” Mr. Netanyahu said, blaming Hamas for embedding its fighters among civilians in residential areas.

Israel, he said, acted to protect its citizens from thousands of rockets fired from Gaza and from attacks by “death squads” through tunnels running under the border into Israel.