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France 24
24 minutes ago
- France 24
Israel PM says new plan for Gaza 'best way to end the war'
Defending his plan in a press conference in Jerusalem, the premier said the new operation would be implemented on "a fairly short timetable because we want to bring the war to an end". More than 22 months into the war, sparked by Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel, the country is gripped by a yawning divide pitting those demanding an end to the conflict and a deal for the release of the hostages against others who want to see the Palestinian militants vanquished once and for all. Criticism both at home and abroad has only intensified after Netanyahu's security cabinet announced plans Friday to expand the conflict and capture Gaza City. But Netanyahu was defiant on Sunday, telling journalists gathered for a rare press conference: "This is the best way to end the war, and the best way to end it speedily." "I don't want to talk about exact timetables, but we're talking in terms of a fairly short timetable because we want to bring the war to an end," he added. The premier said the new operation's aim was "to dismantle the two remaining Hamas strongholds in Gaza City and the central camps", while establishing secure corridors and safe zones to allow civilians to leave the area. "Israel has no choice but to finish the job and complete the defeat of Hamas. Now we've done a great deal. We have about 70 to 75 percent of Gaza under Israeli control, military control," he said. "But we have two remaining strongholds, OK? These are Gaza City and the central camps in Al Mawasi." 'Just another plan' The press conference came ahead of a UN Security Council meeting called to discuss the situation in Gaza and the new Israeli plan. It also came a day after thousands of people took to the streets in Tel Aviv to protest the security cabinet's decision. "The new plan is just another plan that is gonna fail, and it could very well be the end of our hostages, and of course, it will take probably more lives of our soldiers," protester Joel Obodov told AFP. The premier has faced regular protests over the course of the war, with many rallies calling for the government to strike a ceasefire and hostage-release deal after past truces saw captives exchanged for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli custody. Netanyahu, however, has also come under pressure from the far right to go harder on Hamas, with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich slamming the new plan as half-hearted. "They decided once again to repeat the same approach, embarking on a military operation that does not aim for a decisive resolution," Smotrich said in a video posted online. The far-right members of Netanyahu's cabinet, including Smotrich, have maintained considerable influence in the premier's coalition government throughout the war -- with their support seen as vital to holding at least 61 seats for a parliamentary majority. National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, also of the far right, told Kan radio on Sunday: "It is possible to achieve victory. I want all of Gaza, transfer and colonisation. This plan will not endanger the troops." 'We will win' Meanwhile, the cabinet's decision to expand the war in Gaza has touched off a wave of criticism across the globe. On Sunday, the UN Security Council met to discuss the latest development. "If these plans are implemented, they will likely trigger another calamity in Gaza, reverberating across the region and causing further forced displacement, killings and destruction," UN Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav Jenca told the Security Council. Foreign powers, including some of Israel's allies, have been pushing for a negotiated truce to secure the hostages' return and help alleviate a humanitarian crisis in the territory following repeated warnings of famine taking hold. Despite the backlash and rumours of dissent from Israeli military top brass, Netanyahu has remained firm. "We will win the war, with or without the support of others," he told the press on Sunday. "Our goal is not to occupy Gaza, but to establish a civilian administration in the Strip that is not affiliated with Hamas or the Palestinian Authority," he said. Out of 251 hostages captured during Hamas's 2023 attack, 49 are still being held in Gaza, including 27 the military says are dead. Israel's offensive has killed at least 61,430 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry, figures the United Nations says are reliable. According to Gaza's civil defence agency, at least 27 people were killed by Israeli fire across the territory Sunday, including 11 who were waiting near aid distribution centres. Hamas's 2023 attack on Israel, which triggered the war, resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
France 24
24 minutes ago
- France 24
Israel's Gaza plan risks 'another calamity': UN official
The United Nations Security Council held a rare emergency weekend meeting after Israel said its military would "take control" of Gaza City in a plan approved by Prime Minister Netanyahu's security cabinet that sparked a wave of global criticism. "If these plans are implemented, they will likely trigger another calamity in Gaza, reverberating across the region and causing further forced displacement, killings, and destruction," UN Assistant Secretary General Miroslav Jenca told the Security Council. Britain, a close ally of Israel which nonetheless pushed for an emergency meeting on the crisis, warned the Israeli plan risked prolonging the conflict. "It will only deepen the suffering of Palestinian civilians in Gaza. This is not a path to resolution. It is a path to more bloodshed," said British deputy ambassador to the UN James Kariuki. But Netanyahu said Sunday his country was "talking in terms of a fairly short timetable because we want to bring the war to an end," as he insisted Israel did not want to occupy Gaza. Outside the meeting at UN headquarters in New York, a small but noisy protest calling for an end to the conflict was met by a large police presence. Palestinian ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour said Friday that "this escalation by the Israeli government is going in total contradiction to the will of the international community." The United States, a veto-wielding permanent member of the Security Council, is likely to seek to shield its staunch ally Israel from any practical measure of UN censure. Israel's ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, said ahead of the meeting that "Israel will not stop fighting for the release of all the hostages -- and ensuring the safety and security of our citizens is our duty."
France 24
an hour ago
- France 24
Netanyahu defends new Gaza military push amid growing opposition
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel 'has no choice but to finish the job and complete the defeat of Hamas.' He was speaking to foreign media in Jerusalem and defending a planned military offensive. He asserted that 'our goal is not to occupy Gaza, our goal is to free Gaza'. He also pushed back against what he calls a 'global campaign of lies' as condemnation of the plan grows both inside and outside Israel. Netanyahu said there is a 'fairly short timetable' in mind for next steps in Gaza. The goals there, he said, include demilitarizing Gaza, the Israeli military having 'overriding security control' there and a non-Israeli civilian administration in charge. The prime minister also said he had directed Israel's military in recent days to 'bring in more foreign journalists' – which would be a striking development as they have not been allowed into Gaza beyond military embeds. Netanyahu again blamed many of Gaza's problems on the Hamas militant group, including civilian deaths, destruction and shortages of aid. At least 26 Palestinians were killed while seeking aid in the Gaza Strip, hospitals and witnesses said, as families of Israeli hostages called for a general strike to protest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plans to expand military operations in the territory. Netanyahu is scheduled to give a press conference for foreign and local media later Sunday amid international condemnation of his plans. His address will come just before the United Nations Security Council holds an emergency meeting on Israel's plan to take control of Gaza City. Gunfire about aid distribution centre Hospital officials said they received bodies from areas where Palestinians were seeking aid – either along food convoy routes or near privately run aid distribution points across Gaza. The dead include 10 who were killed while waiting for aid trucks close to the newly built Morag corridor which separates the southern cities of Rafah and Khan Younis, said Nasser hospital. A further six people were killed while waiting for aid in northern Gaza near the Zikim crossing, according to the Gaza health ministry and the Shifa hospital in Gaza City which received the casualties. In central Gaza, witnesses said they first heard warning shots before the fire was aimed toward crowds of aid seekers trying to reach a food distribution site operated by Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). FRANCE 24 cannot independently confirm who fired the shots. The Awda hospital in the nearby Nuseirat refugee camp said four people were killed by Israeli gunfire. 'First, it was in the air, then they started to fire at the people,' said Sayed Awda, who waited hundreds of meters (yards) from the GHF site in the area. Six other aid seekers were killed while trying to reach GHF sites in Khan Younis and Rafah, Nasser hospital said. The US and Israel backed the foundation months ago as an alternative to the UN-run aid system, but its early operations have been marred by deaths and chaos, with aid-seekers coming under gunfire near the routes leading to the sites. Responding to Associated Press inquiries, the GHF media office said: 'There were no incidents at or near our sites today and these incidents appear to be linked to crowds trying to loot aid convoy.' Israel's military also said there were no incidents involving Israeli troops near central Gaza aid sites. Seven people were killed in air strikes, local hospitals reported – three people near the fishermen's port in Gaza City and four people, two of them children, in a strike that hit a tent in Khan Younis. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the strikes, but has accused Hamas of operating from civilian areas. Spectre of Famine Israel's air and ground offensive has displaced most of the population and pushed the territory toward famine. Two more Palestinian children died of malnutrition-related causes on Saturday, bringing the death toll among children in Gaza to 100 since the war began. A total of 117 adults have died of malnutrition-related causes since late June when the ministry started to count this age category, it said. The toll from hunger isn't included in the ministry's death toll of 61,400 Palestinians in the war. The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals, doesn't distinguish between fighters or civilians, but says around half of the dead have been women and children. The UN and independent experts consider it the most reliable source on war casualties. The prospect of expanding the war has sparked outrage both internationally and within Israel, where bereaved families and relatives of hostages still held in Gaza urged companies to declare a general strike next week. Tens of thousands of Israelis rallied in Tel Aviv on Saturday night in what local media called one of the largest anti-government protests in recent months. The families and their supporters hope to pressure the government to reverse its decision to take over Gaza City, warning that expanding the war will endanger their loved ones. Of the 251 people abducted when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing about 1,200, around 50 remain in Gaza, with 20 Israel believed to be alive. Lishay Miran-Lavi, whose husband Omri is among the hostages, also appealed to US President Donald Trump and special envoy Steve Witkoff to halt the war. 'The decision to send the army deeper into Gaza is a danger to my husband, Omri. But we can still stop this disaster,' she said. Also Sunday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz toured the northern part of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. He said Israel's military would remain in the area's refugee camps at least until the end of the year. Approximately 40,000 Palestinians have been driven from their homes this year in the West Bank's largest displacement since Israel captured the territory in 1967. Israel says the operations are needed to stamp out militancy, as violence by all sides has surged since Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack ignited war in Gaza.
