Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated on Sunday that he intends to displace the people and take over the entire Gaza Strip in order to take over Gaza City and the remaining portion of Gaza that is not already under Israeli control.
Tens of thousands of Israelis have protested the proposal, which Israel’s Security Cabinet approved early Friday, although he made these remarks during a press conference in Jerusalem. Numerous reservists, many of whom have served in earlier phases of the conflict, will need to be called up as part of the strategy.
Families of hostages detained in Gaza are also condemning the action and calling on Netanyahu’s administration to reach a ceasefire agreement with Hamas that releases the roughly 50 captives that terrorists are still holding, of whom about 20 are thought to be alive.
But Netanyahu stepped up his support for the scheme.
He made his first public remarks since Israel’s Security Cabinet authorized the proposal, saying, “Contrary to false claims, this is the best way to end the war and the best way to end it speedily.”
Mass Palestinian relocation in Gaza is part of the agenda. Netanyahu declared that the Israeli force already controls around 75% of Gaza and that residents would be removed from Gaza City and other important regions of the enclave. Israel will accomplish this, he claimed, by allowing civilians “to safely leave the combat areas to designated safe zones.”
In that place, he said, they will receive “ample food, water, and medical care.” He did not specify the location of these zones, whether Israeli troops would encircle them, how the two million residents of Gaza would be securely relocated there, or any other aspect of the plan.
The hunger in Gaza and the suffering there have drawn international criticism of Israel, according to specialists supported by the United Nations. According to residents in Gaza City, there isn’t much of a motivation for them to relocate south of the region.
“I’ll wind up in a tent or on the street. “No, I’d rather die here more dignified than on the street,” said 60-year-old Gaza City resident Saady Barakat, who, like other people who spoke to NPR, stated that they have neither the money nor the plans to leave. In what critics referred to as a “starve or leave” approach, Israel has severely limited food and forced the closure of hospitals in previous displacement orders during the conflict.
Netanyahu also outlined Israel’s long-term strategy for Gaza’s future, restating Security Cabinet-agreed points such as Israel’s “overriding security responsibility” for the entire region and the creation of a “non-Israeli peaceful civil administration” in Gaza that is not controlled by Hamas or the Palestinian Authority.
The prime minister declared, “Occupying Gaza is not our objective.” “Our goal is to free Gaza, free it from Hamas terrorists.”
He did concede, however, that this is not the case for all members of his far-right ruling coalition. He should conquer Gaza, stop any aid from entering the region, and permanently uproot its people, according to certain ministers.
Standing in front of images of starving children in Gaza with the word “fake” written on them, he addressed reporters, asserting that there was no starvation and calling such stories “malignant lies.” The populace is severely malnourished and starved, according to NPR’s own reporting, famine specialists, and visiting doctors on the ground.
The U.N. Security Council was also meeting on Sunday to address Israel’s recent offensive in Gaza, which has been denounced by several world leaders from Europe to the Arab world.
“This is not a path to resolution,” UK deputy permanent representative to the U.N. James Kariuki stated. “It is a path to more bloodshed.”
Tom Fletcher, the chief of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, asked how people in Gaza are supposed to survive under the current circumstances.
“The humanitarian system has effectively collapsed,” he stated. “Hospitals are not protected, doctors have been killed or detained, and facilities are working without sufficient medical supplies.”
According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, Israeli strikes have killed almost 61,000 Palestinians in less than two years of fighting. In recent weeks, Israeli soldiers have murdered around 1,800 individuals and injured almost 13,000 others while they were attempting to get food aid, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Israel claims that Israeli troops have mostly just warned crowds with warning shots.
Rebukes follow Israel’s stated goal of controlling Gaza City
The government’s proposed extended offensive in Gaza sparked protests throughout Israel, with tens of thousands of Israelis turning out in Tel Aviv and other cities. Following the devastating Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas, some of them were former captives held by terrorists in Gaza who claimed the fresh offensive would endanger the lives of the hostages remaining in captivity.
In a post on X on Saturday, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum stated, “The people of Israel are not willing to risk the hostages and the soldiers by expanding the fighting.”
Pro-Palestinian demonstrations also took place overseas, such as in London, where police said that 522 people were detained on Saturday for aiding Palestine Action, a group that is prohibited in the United Kingdom by a national terrorism statute.
Israel’s new approach was widely denounced by Palestinians.
Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, described Israel’s action as a “complete crime that represents a continuation of the policy of genocide, systematic killing, starvation and siege, and a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and U.N. resolutions.”
Israel’s plan has also drawn harsh international criticism, including opposition from the United Nations and Middle Eastern and European political figures.
Spain, Portugal, Norway, and other European nations’ foreign affairs ministers signed a joint letter on Sunday criticizing Israel’s plan, claiming it would exacerbate the humanitarian situation in Gaza, put the remaining hostages in jeopardy, and “lead to an unacceptable high toll of deaths and the forced displacement of nearly one million Palestinian civilians.” Israel’s plan was also denounced by Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Turkey. Additionally, Germany, one of Israel’s most ardent longterm allies, declared on Friday that it would no longer be sending Israel military hardware that may be deployed in the Gaza Strip.
During Sunday’s Security Council meeting, however, U.S. interim ambassador to the U.N. Dorothy Shea stated that “Israel has a right to decide what is necessary for its security, and what measures are appropriate to end the threat posed by Hamas and other similar groups.”
Shea continued: “The simple truth is that this war could end today if Hamas would let the hostages and all of Gaza go free.”
The prime minister discussed the plan to take over Gaza City with President Trump, according to Netanyahu’s office, which also praised him “for his steadfast support for Israel since the start of the war.” In response to a question last week regarding Israel’s potential plan to occupy all of Gaza, Trump stated that it was “pretty much up to Israel.”
Reporting was done by Eleanor Beardsley, Jane Arraf, and Robbie Griffiths of NPR.
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