UN chief calls Israeli plan to take control of Gaza City a 'dangerous escalation'
Israel's security cabinet has approved a plan to take control of Gaza City to further expand Israel's military offensive in the Palestinian enclave devastated by nearly a two-year Israeli assault. The plan drew strong criticism at home and abroad on Friday.
When asked by Fox News' Bill Hemmer on Thursday if Israel would take over the entire coastal territory, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said "we intend to."
"This decision marks a dangerous escalation and risks deepening the already catastrophic consequences for millions of Palestinians, and could further endanger more lives, including of the remaining hostages," the U.N. chief's spokesperson said in a statement.
That decision "will result in additional forced displacement, killings and massive destruction, compounding the unimaginable suffering of the Palestinian population in Gaza," the statement added. Forced displacement is illegal under international law.
Gaza's health ministry says Israel's military assault has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians. It has also caused a hunger crisis, internally displaced Gaza's entire population and prompted accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice and of war crimes at the International Criminal Court. Israel denies the accusations.
Israel's offensive followed an October 2023 attack in which Palestinian Hamas militants killed 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages, Israeli tallies show. That attack sparked the latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
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Reuters
26 minutes ago
- Reuters
Mothers of Gaza hostages fear Israeli offensive will endanger their sons
GENEVA, Aug 12 (Reuters) - Mothers of Israeli hostages held in Gaza, including one who appeared emaciated in a recent Hamas video, voiced fears on Tuesday that a planned Israeli offensive could further endanger their sons' lives due to the risk of reprisals. Israel plans a much-criticised new Gaza offensive to take control of Gaza City in the almost two-year-old war against Palestinian militant group Hamas. Bombardment of the city is underway but the timing of the full offensive is uncertain and efforts to salvage a ceasefire continue. "When I heard that our government intends to extend the war in Gaza, I as a mother am afraid, because we know that Hamas gives kill the hostages whenever (our military) is getting close to them," said Viki Cohen, the mother of Nimrod Cohen, an Israeli soldier who was captured by Hamas during the deadly Oct. 7, 2023 cross-border attacks. Cohen, who is in Geneva alongside other hostages' mothers to appeal to the International Committee of the Red Cross to help them, called instead for a deal for their release. "We must do everything to take them out from there," she said, holding up a photo of her now 21-year-old son, with his two previous ages since his captivity crossed out. Galia David, the mother of Evyatar David who appeared skeleton-like in a Hamas video this month where he was seen digging what he described as his own grave, said she was "really afraid" ahead of the offensive. "We know from hostages who were released that there are hard stories, that they are even more evil with them when there is fighting," she told reporters. She said she also worries that her son could die of starvation within days - a fear shared by Cohen's mother. Malnutrition rates and hunger-related deaths are rising in Gaza, humanitarian groups say, amid Israeli restrictions on aid. Israel denies responsibility for spreading hunger in Gaza, accusing Hamas of stealing aid, which Hamas denies. Of the original 251 hostages captured by Hamas, around 50 hostages remain in Gaza, of whom about 20 are thought to still be alive. Hamas has repeatedly denied abuse of the hostages and said Israel is starving the whole population in Gaza, including the hostages and their captors.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Palestinian diplomat urged media access to Gaza before deadly strike on reporters
In a speech on 10 August, Palestine 's UN Ambassador Riyad Mansour urged the Security Council to send 100 journalists to Gaza to observe the situation. During an emergency meeting, Ambassador Mansour challenged Benjamin Netanyahu 's claims of a 'global conspiracy' regarding events in Gaza. Hours after his address, an Israeli airstrike targeted a tent housing journalists outside al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. The strike resulted in the deaths of five Al Jazeera reporters, including 28-year-old correspondent Anas al-Sharif. Watch the video in full above.
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Gaza suffering has reached 'unimaginable' levels, say 26 foreign ministers
LONDON/BRUSSELS, Aug 12 (Reuters) - The humanitarian crisis in Gaza has reached "unimaginable levels", Britain, Canada, Australia and several of their European allies said on Tuesday, calling on Israel to allow unrestricted aid into the war-torn Palestinian enclave. "Famine is unfolding before our eyes. Urgent action is needed now to halt and reverse starvation," the foreign ministers of 24 countries said in a joint statement. "We call on the government of Israel to provide authorisation for all international NGO (non-governmental organisations) aid shipments and to unblock essential humanitarian actors from operating," the statement said. "All crossings and routes must be used to allow a flood of aid into Gaza, including food, nutrition supplies, shelter, fuel, clean water, medicine and medical equipment." Israel has denied responsibility for hunger spreading in Gaza, accusing Hamas militants of stealing aid shipments, which Hamas denies. However, in response to a rising international uproar, Israel late last month announced steps to let more aid into the enclave, including pausing fighting for part of the day in some areas and announcing protected routes for aid convoys. Western capitals, however, say much more aid is needed and some countries have started airdrops with aid over Gaza. The statement was signed by the foreign ministers of Australia, Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Britain. The EU later on Tuesday sent an updated statement to include EU member states Italy and Latvia as signatories of the statement. The EU's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, and two other members of the European Commission also signed the statement. Some EU member countries, including Germany and Hungary, did not sign it.
