Tel Aviv, 9 May 2024 (dpa/MIA) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will defend itself alone if necessary amid growing international criticism of the war in Gaza.

"If we have to stand alone, we will stand alone," he said in a video message released on Thursday. He said Israel would fight "with our fingernails" to win, in his first public statement after Washington said it would restrict arms supplies in the case of a broader attack on Rafah.

Netanyahu referred to the Israeli War of Independence of 1948, saying Israel had won even without weapons. Now, he said, Israel is much stronger and is united in its aim to defeat its enemies.

The US is Israel's main backer but President Joe Biden threatened to further restrict arms supplies to Israel if Netanyahu goes ahead with a large-scale military offensive in Rafah. Israel says the operation is aimed at eliminating the Palestinian extremist organization Hamas.

The US and other Israeli allies, despite their support for Israel's campaign in Gaza, have criticized the planned offensive into Rafah on the Egyptian border.

Such a ground invasion would target the densely crowded area in which some 1.5 million of Gaza's roughly 2.2 million people have been seeking refuge from Israeli bombardment elsewhere in Gaza.