Israel “intends to” take full control of Gaza, Benjamin Netanyahu has declared.
Speaking to Fox News ahead of a security cabinet meeting to discuss a full military occupation of the Gaza Strip, the Israeli PM claimed his country does not want to ‘keep’ or ‘govern’ the territory.
“We intend to,” Netanyahu said when asked if Israel would take control of the entire strip. “We don’t want to keep it. We want to have a security perimeter. We don’t want to govern it. We don’t want to be there as a governing body.”
Israel’s assaults on Gaza have killed at least 23 Palestinians since dawn this morning as the Prime Minister Netanyahu thrashed out explosive plans to fully occupy the Strip. He will hold a special security cabinet meeting this afternoon to discuss controversial plans for the total military control of the Palestinian enclave, drawing widespread condemnation.
(
AFP via Getty Images)
Gaza’s hospitals have recorded four new deaths “due to famine and malnutrition over the past 24 hours”, according to the local Health Ministry. It raises the total number of hunger-related deaths to 197, including 96 children and UN has warned Israel ’s blockade of Gaza is endangering the lives of babies.
It is feared more than 100 premature babies are in “imminent danger”, the organisation warns, as a lack of fuel impedes “life-saving” operations in hospitals. Israeli ’s military has stepped up attacks in the past few days, with artillery and air-strikes hitting targets within Gaza.
(
Getty Images)
Military leaders are believed to have pushed back against Netanyahu’s “Gaza occupation plans” as holding no strategic or military advantage. They fear Israel will become bogged down in fighting a lengthy and bitter insurgency against Gazans seeking revenge for the war.
It is also feared that further military pressure on what remains of Hamas towards the lives of the surviving hostages. Occupation of Gaza means the war could continue for months.
(
Anadolu via Getty Images)
It is suspected that the move may be a bluff by the Israeli government to force Hamas to hand over hostages. But, either way, families of the hostages are furiously opposed to any talk of occupation as it will likely endanger the lives of their loved-ones.
If occupation plans go ahead it will be the second time since 1967 that Israel has occupied Gaza, which it left in 2005, dismantling about 22 settlements within the community.
(
Anadolu via Getty Images)
As many as 9,000 settlers had lived there for years. Following Israel’s military departure from the Strip in 2005 tension grew between the political parties of Hamas and Fatah.
Terrible violence followed and they failed to agree on a power-share, resulting in a Hamas takeover of Gaza in 2007. An occupation would mean Israel’s military taking over highly-populated parts of Gaza.
And the fighting will likely continue for months, extending Benjamin Netanyahu ’s political reign. Many, including hostage negotiator and Israeli activist Gershon Baskin, believe Netanyahu does not want the war to end as it ensures his political survival.
(
ANP/AFP via Getty Images)
He is under immense pressure from right-wingers in his government to maintain a hard stance against Hamas and extend the war. Baskin recently revealed in the Daily Mirror that he had brokered a deal with a senior Hamas official to release the hostages soon after the war broke out.
Among the hostages just 20 are believed to be alive, with a further 30 dead bodies of captives somewhere within Gaza, almost certainly hidden in tunnels. The war on Gaza has killed at least 61,158 people and wounded 151,442.
(
Anadolu via Getty Images)
An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the October 7, 2023, attacks, and more than 200 were taken captive. It is feared at least 200,000 children in Gaza suffer from severe malnutrition.
