The Latest: Israel plans to take control of Gaza City, drawing international condemnation
Another major ground operation would almost certainly exacerbate the humanitarian catastrophe, in which Israel's air and ground war has pushed the territory toward famine. Hamas said people in Gaza would 'remain defiant against occupation.'
Germany suspends military exports that could be used in Gaza
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz says his country will not authorize any exports of military equipment that could be used in Gaza 'until further notice.'
Germany has been a stalwart supporter of Israel for decades.
In a statement, Merz emphasized that Israel ''has the right to defend itself against Hamas' terror' and said that the release of Israeli hostages and 'purposeful' negotiations toward a cease-fire in the 22-month conflict 'are our top priority.' He said Hamas must not have a role in the future of Gaza.
'The even harsher military action by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip, approved by the Israeli Cabinet last night, makes it increasingly difficult for the German government to see how these goals will be achieved,' he added.
'Under these circumstances, the German government will not authorize any exports of military equipment that could be used in the Gaza Strip until further notice.'
UK, Spain, Turkey and Australia criticize Israel's Gaza City plan
Israel's plan to escalate military operations in Gaza drew international condemnation Friday.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer urged Israel to reconsider, saying the expanded offensive would do nothing to end the conflict or secure the release of the remaining hostages.
'Our message is clear: a diplomatic solution is possible, but both parties must step away from the path of destruction,' Starmer said.
Spain's Foreign Minister José Albares said Israel's plan would 'only lead to more destruction and suffering.'
Turkey's Foreign Ministry said the escalation marked a new phase of Israel's 'expansionist' policies in the region.
'Israel must immediately halt its war plans, accept a ceasefire in Gaza, and begin negotiations toward a two-state solution,' it said in a statement on Friday.
Australia also condemned a further occupation of Gaza. Foreign Minister Penny Wong said a two-state solution is the only pathway to secure an enduring peace: a Palestinian state and the State of Israel, living side-by-side in peace and security within internationally recognized borders.
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NBC News
18 minutes ago
- NBC News
Netanyahu says starvation claims in Gaza are exaggerated as backlash mounts over plans for new Israeli offensive
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came under pressure from all sides Sunday as his controversial plan to seize Gaza City drew backlash inside his government and on the streets of Israel, while malnutrition deaths in the Gaza Strip continued to climb. At a press conference on Sunday, a defiant Netanyahu continued to deny there is starvation in Gaza and claimed the situation is being exaggerated. Netanyahu only conceded there was 'deprivation' in Gaza, but said 'no one in Gaza would have survived after two years of war' if Israel was implementing a 'starvation policy.' Netanyahu went on to defend the new military offensive, saying Israel had 'no choice' but to 'finish the job' and 'defeat Hamas,' while claiming that "hundreds of aid trucks have gone into Gaza." But his critics on the left say his proposed new military offensive is likely to worsen the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and further endanger the hostages still being held by Hamas. Protests calling for an immediate ceasefire drew thousands of people Saturday night in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and other Israeli cities. And for some far-right members of Netanyahu's coalition government, the plan isn't tough enough. Foreign Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who has pushed for Israel to impose sovereignty over Gaza, called it a 'foolish' half-measure, saying in a video message Saturday night that he did not support it. Smotrich said the proposed offensive was intended to pressure Hamas into agreeing to a temporary ceasefire, and that instead Israel needed a 'sharp, clear path' to victory over Hamas. The dissatisfaction expressed by Smotrich, who said he had 'lost faith' in the prime minister, threatens to destabilize Netanyahu's fragile coalition. Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid seized on the opportunity, calling on Smotrich to join him in advancing a bill to dissolve parliament and hold new elections. 'In your own words, you admitted that the prime minister's policy is not leading to a decisive outcome in Gaza, is not returning our hostages, and is not winning the war,' Lapid said in a statement, according to the Times of Israel. 'You also added that you can no longer stand behind the prime minister and back him up.' The United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting later Sunday to discuss Israel's proposed offensive, which has been condemned by Britain, France, Australia and other Western governments. James Kariuki, the U.K.'s deputy permanent representative to the U.N., called on Israel to reverse its decision, saying the plan "will only deepen the suffering of Palestinian civilians in Gaza." It comes amid a worsening hunger crisis in Gaza, where humanitarian aid has been limited since Israel lifted a two-and-a-half-month blockade in May. The Gaza Health Ministry said Sunday that five more people, including two children, had died from malnutrition and starvation in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 217, including 100 children. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization, said Thursday that at least 99 people in Gaza, including 29 children under age 5, have died from malnutrition this year, noting the real toll was most likely higher. The U.N. and other international organizations say the humanitarian aid arriving in Gaza through air drops and on a small number of trucks is far from sufficient to feed the enclave's population of 2 million people. On Saturday, a 14-year-old boy named Muhannad Eid died after being struck by an aid package that was airdropped over Gaza, his brother, Muhammad Eid, said. 'This is an aerial humiliation, not aid,' Eid said. 'We need protection. We want international protection.' With the latest death, 23 people have now been killed during airdrops since the Israel-Hamas war began 22 months ago, according to the Gaza government media office. 'We have repeatedly warned of the danger of these inhumane methods and have repeatedly called for the safe and adequate entry of aid through land crossings,' it said in a statement. According to local health officials, more than 61,000 Palestinians, including thousands of children, have been killed since the war began on Oct. 7, 2023, with Hamas's terrorist attack on Israel. During that attack, Hamas-led militants killed about 1,200 people and abducted 251 others. Of the 50 hostages still being held by Hamas, Israel believes about 20 are alive. Hostage advocates and Netanyahu's own army chief have warned that expanded military operations could put their lives in danger. The plan, which Netanyahu's government announced Friday, outlines five goals for ending the war: disarming Hamas, returning all hostages, demilitarizing Gaza, taking security control of the area, and establishing 'an alternative civil administration that is neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority.' Those preparations are expected to take weeks or months, a delay that hardliners in the Israeli government fear could leave room for a diplomatic solution that would undermine their objectives. Experts have also questioned whether the plan would protect Israelis, or work at all. Michael Milshtein, head of the Palestinian Studies Forum at Tel Aviv University's Dayan Center, said the plan was full of 'hollow slogans.' 'There is a very common slogan: 'We will release the hostages and defeat Hamas at the same time,'' he said. 'You can't do both simultaneously. Hamas will execute them, or the IDF itself could in the bombing.' Netanyahu said Sunday that his goal was to get the hostages out alive and recover the remains of those had had died. "If we don't do anything, we are not going to get them out," he said. "The move I'm talking about has the possibility of getting them out." There are also questions as to who would run Gaza long term. Netanyahu said he intends to hand control of the territory to 'Arab forces,' adding Sunday that "several candidates" are being looked at for the establishment of a new "transitional authority." He has not specified who that could be, aside from saying it would not be Hamas or the Palestinian Authority. 'That leaves nobody,' said H.A. Hellyer, a senior associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute in London. 'No Arab country is going to be Israel's enforcer on the ground.'
UPI
18 minutes ago
- UPI
Israelis protest against Gaza war expansion
Israeli Police detain a protester who participated with families of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. The protest, which called on the government to sign a hostages release and cease-fire deal, was held outside the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv on Saturday. Photo by Abit Sultan/EPA Aug. 10 (UPI) -- Tens of thousands of demonstrators rallied across Israel over the weekend to protest the government's planned expansion of the war in Gaza as the Israeli Defense Forces itself remained split on the issue. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office announced Friday that the Security Cabinet had approved his proposal "for defeating Hamas," which included the IDF taking control of Gaza City, where a million Palestinians still live. The Security Cabinet adopted five principles that it said would end the war, including the disarming of Hamas, the return of all Israeli captives, the demilitarization of Gaza, Israeli security control over the enclave and the establishment of a new civil administration. Hamas, in a statement, condemned the Israeli decision as a "new war crime" that it said amounted to "ethnic cleansing." "We warn the criminal occupation that this criminal adventure will cost it dearly. It will not be a walk in the park. Our people and their resistance are resilient to defeat or surrender, and Netanyahu's plans, ambitions, and delusions will fail miserably," Hamas said. Hamas said that the plan could endanger the lives of the remaining living captives, and added that Israel is "disregarding the lives of prisoners," a point echoed over the weekend by Israelis demonstrating in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Bring Them Home Now, an organization representing the families of Israelis still held captive in Gaza, shared a photo on social media of a demonstration Saturday of some 60,000 people gathered in Hostages Square across from the Tel Aviv Museum of Art. It also shared footage of the large crowds marching around the Kirya military base. "Expanding the fighting endangers the hostages and the soldiers -- the people of Israel are not willing to risk them!" the group captioned the post. The organization has called for a comprehensive deal to end the war and return the captives home. Protesters at the demonstration have reportedly included former IDF soldiers who have since refused to serve as the war continues. Former combat soldier Max Kresch told the BBC that some 350 soldiers who participated in the war were refusing service because the war "endangers the hostages and starving innocent Palestinians in Gaza." Families of the captives in Gaza and soldiers who have died in the fighting are now calling for a nationwide strike that would shut down the country's economy on Sunday, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported. The strike has received the support of Yair Golan, the leader of Israel's Democrats party, who said Sunday on social media that his party would be participating in the strike. "I call on all Israeli citizens, everyone who holds the value of life and mutual responsibility dear, to strike with us and take to the streets, to fight and disrupt," he said. "We cannot continue with routine life in the face of abandoning our brothers and sisters in Gaza. We cannot remain silent in the face of this reality." Yair Lapid, the leader of the centrist Yesh Atid party, the major opposition party in Israel, called the strike "justified" in a statement Sunday. "The call of the hostages' families to shut down the economy is justified and worthy; we will continue to stand by their side," he said. Before the Security Cabinet approved the plan to seize control of Gaza City on Friday, IDF chief Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir reportedly said it was "vital" for Israelis to dissent against the plan, which he warned would "drag Israel into a black hole." Zamir reportedly said that the operation would take years and expose to Israeli soldiers to guerilla warfare.
Bloomberg
18 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
Israel's Netanyahu Defends Plan for Final Sweep Against Hamas
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended his plan for a final sweep against Hamas strongholds in Gaza in the face of intense condemnation both at home and abroad, describing it as the best possibility for ending the war speedily and recovering the hostages alive. Speaking to foreign journalists two days after his security cabinet approved the plan, Netanyahu declined to give a timeline for the operation, saying only that it would be 'fairly quick' and that he wouldn't allow the country to enter a war of attrition.
