UK military continues surveillance flights over Gaza for Israel
According to the British daily, intelligence collected from various British assets in the region - including the Royal Air Force - is being handed over to the Israeli army for real-time information on the captives.
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Middle East Eye
a minute ago
- Middle East Eye
Netanyahu says his plan is to take control of all of Gaza
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Fox News on Thursday that his plan is to militarily occupy the entirety of the Gaza Strip. "Will Israel take control of all of Gaza?" Fox's Bill Hemmer asked. "We intend to, in order to assure our security, remove Hamas there, enable the population to be free of Gaza and to pass it to civilian governance that is not Hamas, and not anyone advocating the destruction of Israel," Netanyahu responded. "We want to liberate ourselves and liberate the people of Gaza from the awful terror of Hamas. And you were in the Gaza Strip - you met Palestinians who are fighting Hamas," he added, alluding to a tour the Israeli military provided Fox News on the border with Gaza. It was unclear whether Netanyahu was referring to the militia known as The Popular Forces, led by convicted drug trafficker Yasser Abu Shabab. "[Palestinians] can rid themselves of this awful tyranny that not only holds our hostages, but holds 2 million Palestinians in Gaza hostage. That's got to end," Netanyahu said. "Are you saying today that you will take control of the entire 26-mile Gaza Strip as it was 20 years ago this month in 2005?" Hemmer asked. "Well, we don't want to keep it," Netanyahu said. "We want to have a security perimeter. We don't want to govern it... We want to hand it over to Arab forces that will govern it properly without threatening us and giving Gazans a good life. That's not possible with Hamas. The only way that you're going to have a different future is to get rid of this neo-Nazi army," he continued, before referencing several allegations about the 7 October 2023 attacks that have never been proven, including the "burning of babies" by Hamas. "They are really cruel to their own people, because when we try to take them away from the combat zones, they shoot them," he said. "They want people to be civilian casualties. They want a starvation policy that they themselves are trying to put into being, and we're doing everything to reverse that". Some 200 Palestinians have been starved to death in Gaza ever since Israel closed all crossings and banned food, water, and medicines from entering the enclave in March. More than 60,000 Palestinians have been killed - mostly in Israeli air strikes - since the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel 22 months ago. Those attacks killed just under 1,200 people.
Gulf Today
8 minutes ago
- Gulf Today
Israeli military chief opposes Netanyahu's Gaza war expansion
Israel's military chief has pushed back against Benjamin Netanyahu's plans to seize areas of Gaza it doesn't already control, three Israeli officials said, as the prime minister faces increasing pressure over the war both at home and abroad. During a tense, three-hour meeting on Tuesday, Eyal Zamir, the military chief of staff, warned the prime minister that taking the rest of Gaza could trap the military in the territory, which it withdrew from two decades ago, and could lead to harm to the hostages being held there, the sources briefed on the meeting said. The Israeli military says it already controls 75% of Gaza after nearly two years of war, which began when Hamas attacked southern Israeli communities in October 2023. It has repeatedly opposed imposing military rule, annexing the territory, and rebuilding Jewish settlements there - policies advocated by some government members. Netanyahu is under intense international pressure to reach a ceasefire in the coastal enclave, which has been reduced to rubble in the fighting. Most of the population of about 2 million has been displaced multiple times and aid groups say residents are on the verge of famine. The UN has called reports about a possible expansion of Israel's military operations in Gaza 'deeply alarming' if true. The military, which accuses Hamas of operating amongst civilians, has at times avoided areas where intelligence suggested hostages were held and former captives have said their captors threatened to kill them if Israeli forces approached. Netanyahu told Zamir that so far the military had failed to bring about the release of the hostages, the officials said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. Most of those freed so far came about as a result of diplomatic negotiations. Defense Minister Israel Katz wrote on X Wednesday that the military chief has both the right and the duty to voice his opinion, but said that the military would carry out the government's decisions until all war objectives are achieved. The prime minister's office confirmed the meeting with Zamir on Tuesday but declined to comment further and the military did not respond to a request for comment. The prime minister is scheduled to discuss military plans for Gaza with other ministers on Thursday. A fourth source said Netanyahu wants to expand military operations in Gaza to put pressure on Hamas. Netanyahu, who in May said that Israel would control all of Gaza, leads the most right-wing coalition government in Israel's history and some of his key partners have in the past threatened to quit if the government ended the war. Following a 40-minute meeting with the prime minister on Wednesday, opposition leader Yair Lapid told reporters he had advised Netanyahu that the public was not interested in continuing the war and that a full military takeover would be a very bad idea. A public poll last month by Israel's Channel 12 also showed support for a diplomatic deal that would end the war and secure the release of the hostages. There are 50 hostages still being held in Gaza, of whom at least 20 are believed to be alive. Videos released by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, another group in Gaza, last week of two extremely emaciated captives triggered international condemnation. Close to 200 Palestinians have died of starvation in Gaza since the war began, about half of them children, according to Gaza's health ministry. More than 20 died on Wednesday when a truck believed to be carrying food overturned as it was swarmed by a desperate crowd, according to local health authorities. The latest ceasefire talks in Qatar broke down last month. Hamas insists any deal must lead to a permanent end to the war, while Israel accuses the group of lacking sincerity about giving up power afterward and must be defeated. An expansion of the military offensive in heavily populated areas would likely be devastating. 'Where will we go?' said Tamer Al-Burai, a displaced Palestinian living at the edge of Deir Al Balah in central Gaza. 'Should people jump into the sea if the tanks rolled in, or wait to die under the rubble of their houses? We want an end to this war, it is enough, enough,' he told Reuters by phone. Reuters
Middle East Eye
22 minutes ago
- Middle East Eye
Israeli Chief of Staff opposes Netanyahu's government plans to occupy Gaza
Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir has stressed that he will continue to express his objection to government plans to occupy the Gaza Strip. Following tense confrontations with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other prominent officials, Zamir said the army "will continue to express our position fearlessly in a matter-of-fact, independent and professional manner". At a cabinet meeting that will begin later on Thursday, the Israeli military will present two plans: encircling Gaza or the complete occupation of the besieged enclave. The latter option has been heavily supported by Netanyahu's government, while the former has been recommended by the chief of staff, who says this option will ensure the Israeli captives held in Gaza are subject to less danger. Politicians and other military officials who oppose the occupation of the blockaded Strip have warned that it risks the lives of remaining captives, weakens the military and could have irreperable economic costs to Israel.
