Netanyahu says Israel plans to take full control of Gaza

Israeli undercoat government minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the rural area’s military machine plans to occupy full control of Gaza in a final push to topple Hamas and end 22 months of fighting.

Speaking to Fox News in an interview on Thursday, Israel’s leader said he wants to “liberate ourselves and the people of Gaza” from the leadership of Hamas, though doesn’t plan to govern the Palestinian territory in the long run.

When asked if that meant Israel would seek to take over the parts of Gaza not already under the army’s sway, he responded: “we intend to,” without giving specifics about any military operation.

The decision to step up operations in Gaza marks an escalation in a conflict that’s already devastated the Palestinian territory, where the United Nations World Food Programme says half a million people are starving. Many Western governments are calling for a ceasefire, while polls suggest the majority of Israelis would prefer to see the war called off with Hamas intact if that’s the cost of recovering hostages still held by the Iran-backed Islamist group.

Netanyahu’s security cabinet was due to meet on Thursday evening to decide the next steps following a breakdown in the latest round of ceasefire talks last month. Hamas, designated a terrorist organization by the US and many other governments, sought an end-of-war commitment by Israel, which insists that Hamas first give up power and disarms.

Hamas said via Telegram that Netanyahu’s comments comprise a “coup” on the ceasefire negotiations, “even though we’re close to reaching a final agreement.”

The US, Israel’s chief ally, has said it supports Netanyahu’s right to make “tough decisions” to end the war.

The Israel Defense Forces already controls some 75% of the Gaza, displacing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians whose towns and homes have been reduced to ruins. Gaza City, in the north, is among pockets of territory that have been subjected to air strikes but largely skirted by ground troops as the Israelis believe Hamas holds the remaining 50 hostages there, of whom 20 are believed to be still alive.

Israel has been plunged into international isolation over the spiralling death and humanitarian toll in Gaza. The Hamas-run health ministry says more than 61,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war, while Israeli restrictions on aid have sparked warnings of worsening hunger from the UN and other relief agencies.

Netanyahu told Fox News that Israel’s long-term plan for Gaza is “to pass it to civilian governance, that is not Hamas and anyone advocating for the destruction of Israel.”

“We don’t want to keep it — we want a security perimeter,” he said. “We want to hand it over to Arab forces who will govern it properly without threatening us.”

Netanyahu is set on a full victory against Hamas in response to the group’s October 2023 attack on Israel, when militants killed 1,200 people and abducted 250.

Yair Lapid, the liberal leader of Israel’s parliamentary opposition and an erstwhile supporter of the anti-Hamas offensive, said Wednesday on X he met Netanyahu to tell him that an occupation of Gaza would be “a bad idea”.

“Most of the nation isn’t behind you. The people of Israel don’t want this war. We will bear heavy costs for it,” Lapid said.

Hostage families held a vigil outside the Jerusalem government complex where the security cabinet was due to meet. Ordering a full conquest, they said in a statement, poses immediate danger that their relatives will “disappear forever in Gaza’s soil”.

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