GAZA STRIP: The Israeli parliament voted Thursday to oppose a Palestinian state as an “existential threat”, a day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told lawmakers the army had Hamas “by the throat”.

The vote, which drew swift criticism from the Palestinian leadership and the international community, is largely symbolic but laid down a marker ahead of a planned address by Netanyahu to the US Congress next Wednesday.

The veteran hawk has shown little interest in efforts by the US administration to broker a truce and hostage release deal for Gaza, insisting that “absolute victory” over Hamas is within reach and vowing to ramp up the military pressure.

On the ground in Gaza, the Hamas-ruled territory’s health ministry reported 54 deaths in 24 hours as Israel kept up its heavy bombardment of recent days.

The resolution passed by Israeli lawmakers in the early hours said a Palestinian state on land occupied by the Israeli army would “perpetuate the Israel-Palestinian conflict and destabilise the region”. It said “promoting” a Palestinian state “would only encourage Hamas and its supporters” after its October 7 attack on Israel which triggered the Gaza war.

The resolution passed by 68 votes to nine in the 120-member parliament.