IDF is getting ready to take over Gaza city
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Otago Daily Times
2 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
Palestinian state not the panacea to Gaza's woes
Palestinians gather to collect water at a Gaza aid distribution point. PHOTO: REUTERS "Anyone who wants to thwart the establishment of a Palestinian state has to support bolstering Hamas and transferring money to Hamas [from Qatar]," Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu told the parliamentary members of his Likud Party in 2019. They were questioning his policy of backing Hamas, and he was explaining why. Keeping the Palestinians divided between Hamas in the Gaza Strip and the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) in the West Bank was essential to avoid any revival of the "two-state solution" that the rest of the world has been advocating since the 1990s. Hamas are Islamist fanatics who oppose sharing Palestine with the Jews, just as right-wing Israelis reject sharing it with the Palestinians. So, there was a deal to be made, and Netanyahu made it. But it turned out that Hamas was only pretending. It took the money and played along until October 7, 2023, when it launched the surprise attack that killed 1200 Israelis and took 250 hostages. Netanyahu would normally have been hounded out of politics for that blunder, but he's still there. He's still in power because he's now a war leader and the courts can't hold an inquiry into Netanyahu's behaviour until the war is over. They can't even conclude his ongoing trial for fraud, breach of trust and bribery until then. The war is Netanyahu's friend, but is that the only reason why it continues? I raise this question because "sources close to Netanyahu" are now saying that "the die has been cast. We're going for the full conquest of the Gaza Strip — and defeating Hamas." There are two versions of Netanyahu. One is Bibi as the Artful Dodger, the amoral master tactician who can get himself out of any scrape but has no permanent allies or goals. The other is a more sinister character whose goal has always been the expulsion of all Palestinians from the Gaza Strip and, ultimately, from the West Bank as well. So, which one is he? I can't fully believe in either version for very long, but a mixture of the two is more plausible. If Netanyahu really wants to defeat Hamas, for example, he must reckon with the fact that every militant the Israel Defence Force (IDF) kills probably creates two more young recruits dedicated to revenge. The only plausible solution is to expel them all from the Gaza Strip — but since the IDF doesn't know who the new recruits will be, only expelling all the Palestinians will suffice. By happy coincidence that's just what the more radical members of his shaky coalition want anyway: two fixes for the price of one. And so it goes, motives and goals meshing and clashing: history as a pinball game. But there is one constant that suggests a bigger and more coherent plan is at work in Gaza. It is Israel's control of Gaza's food supply. Gaza is too small and crowded ever to be fully self-sufficient in food, but Israeli destruction of its agriculture and a ban on fishing have made it wholly dependent on food brought in from outside. It's all controlled by Israel. Twenty years ago, the ration was calculated as a minimum of 2279 calories a day, or 1.836kg per person "The idea is to put the Palestinians on a diet," then-prime minister Ehud Olmert said, "but not to make them die of hunger." Now, however, the target is barely 1kg per person a day, and the violence around the food distribution sites in the Strip is killing between 50 and 100 people a day. So far, the daily deaths from starvation are only about one-10th as many. That will shift over the next month or so, because famine deaths do not grow in a linear fashion. They hit a tipping point and then, aided by the spread of disease among starving people with damaged immune systems, they rise almost exponentially. At that point Netanyahu's government will have to juggle two priorities: keep the misery and death high enough to motivate large numbers of Gazans to accept "voluntary" migration to other countries but hold the famine deaths down below the level where even Donald Trump would feel obliged to call a halt to the process. A tricky business, but doable if you can fine-tune the food supply. It's not the death camps of Nazi Germany, but it is still a genocide. As Yuli Nocak, director of the Israel-based human rights organisation B'Tselem said last week, "What we see is a clear, intentional attack on civilians in order to destroy a group. I think every human being has to ask himself: 'What do you do in the face of genocide?'." — Gwynne Dyer is an independent London journalist.
RNZ News
20 hours ago
- RNZ News
Thousands rally in Tel Aviv against Netanyahu's new Gaza plan, demand release of hostages
By Alexander Cornwell, Reuters Einav Zangauker (right), mother of Israeli hostage Matan Zangauker and Matan's girlfriend and former hostage Ilana Gritsevsky (2nd from left) protest with other families of Israeli hostages being held in the Gaza Strip. Photo: Jack Guez / AFP) Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets of Tel Aviv to oppose Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plan to escalate the nearly two-year Gaza war, demanding an immediate end to the campaign and for the release of the hostages. A day earlier, the prime minister's office said the security cabinet, a small group of senior ministers, had decided to seize Gaza City, expanding military operations in the devastated Palestinian territory despite widespread public opposition and warnings from the military the move could endanger the hostages. "This isn't just a military decision. It could be a death sentence for the people we love most," Lishay Miran Lavi, the wife of hostage Omri Miran told the rally, pleading to US President Donald Trump to intervene to immediately end the war. Public opinion polls show an overwhelming majority of Israelis favour an immediate end to the war to secure the release of the remaining 50 hostages held by militants in Gaza. Israeli officials believe about 20 hostages are still alive. The Israeli government has faced sharp criticism at home and abroad, including from some of its closest European allies, over the announcement that the military would expand the war. The full cabinet is expected to give its approval as soon as Sunday. Most of the hostages who have been freed so far emerged as a result of diplomatic negotiations. Talks toward a ceasefire that could have seen more hostages released collapsed in July. "They (the government) are fanatic. They are doing things against the interests of the country," said Rami Dar, a 69-year-old retiree, who travelled from a nearby suburb outside of Tel Aviv, echoing calls for Trump to force a deal for the hostages. Tel Aviv has seen frequent rallies urging the government to reach a ceasefire and hostage deal with Hamas, who ignited the war with their October 2023 attack. Saturday's demonstration attracted over 100,000 protesters, according to organisers. "Frankly, I'm not an expert or anything, but I feel that after two years of fighting there has been no success," said Yana, 45, who attended the rally with her husband and two children. "I wonder whether additional lives for both sides, not just the Israelis but also Gazans, will make any difference." Around 1200 mostly Israelis were killed and 251 were taken into Gaza during Hamas' attack on Israel on 7 October 2023. More than 400 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza since then. Protesters waved Israeli flags and carried placards bearing the images of hostages. Others held signs directing anger at the government or urging Trump to take action to stop Netanyahu from moving forward with plans to escalate the war. A small number of protesters held images of Gazan children killed by the military. Israel's military has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians in the war, according to the Gazan health ministry, which said that at least 39 had been killed in the past day. Some of the prime minister's far-right coalition allies have been pushing for a total takeover of Gaza. The military has warned this could endanger the lives of the hostages in Gaza. Far-right minister Bezalel Smotrich, a proponent of continuing the war, issued a statement on Saturday criticising Netanyahu and called for the annexation of large parts of Gaza. Netanyahu told Fox News in an interview that aired on Thursday that the military intended to take control of all of Gaza but that Israel did not want to keep the territory. The announcement from the prime minister's office early on Friday said the military would take Gaza City, but did not explicitly say if Israeli forces would take all of the enclave. Tal, a 55-year-old high school teacher, told Reuters at the rally in Tel Aviv that expanding the war was "terrible", warning it would result in the deaths of both soldiers and hostages and insisting the war should end with the military withdrawing. "We don't have anything to do there. It's not ours." - Reuters
RNZ News
2 days ago
- RNZ News
Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese arrives in Queenstown for annual talk
New Zealand's Prime Minister Christopher Luxon welcoming Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to Queenstown. Photo: RNZ / Katie Todd Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese are in discussions right now in Queenstown - with matters relating to the Middle East expected to be front and centre. The annual Australia-New Zealand Leaders' Meeting was held in Queenstown, with formal talks taking place on Saturday at Te Wharehuanui - a private retreat built by Xero founder Rod Drury. The summit opened with a pōwhiri by Ngāi Tahu, which Albanese described as "very moving". Albanese is accompanied on the visit by fiancée Jodie Haydon. New Zealand's Prime Minister Christopher Luxon (left) with the former chairman of the Ngāi Tahu Māori Trust Board, Sir Tipene O'Regan. Photo: RNZ / Katie Todd In his opening remarks, Albanese thanked Luxon and his wife Amanda for the "warm generous welcome" and said it was a "delight" to be back in New Zealand - his third visit as prime minister, but one of many over the years. He recalled last visiting Queenstown as a backpacker "last century" and said holding the meeting in such a location was "a great honour". Albanese spoke of the "uncertain world" the two nations face; the one certainty, he said, was that "Australia and New Zealand stand together", a relationship going back to the ANZACs. Luxon's comments reflected a similar sentiment: "The world seems really uncertain and fractious, and actually, we have no greater friend than Australia." He and Albanese have known each other since Luxon's time at Air New Zealand, when Albanese was Australia's transport minister. The yearly fixture alternates between the two countries and allows the prime ministers to discuss bilateral ties and set priorities for the year ahead. This year's talks were expected to canvass the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and Palestinian statehood, as well as security, defence and economic challenges closer to home. Both leaders spoke about Gaza this week with French President Emmanuel Macron, after France, Canada and the United Kingdom signalled they would recognise Palestine at a United Nations summit next month. Both New Zealand and Australia have said it is a question of "when, not if" they recognise a Palestinian state, but neither have commited to a timeline. Luxon has called the trans-Tasman relationship "the best it's ever been". Two-way trade is worth $32 billion, and ministers on both sides have been meeting regularly to strengthen ties. Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese arriving in Queenstown. Photo: RNZ / Katie Todd Albanese is also expected to take part in a business roundtable with the Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum later on Saturday. On Sunday, the leaders are due to lay a wreath at Arrowtown War Memorial Park before Albanese departs. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
