Netanyahu defends planned military offensive in Gaza
Netanyahu said that "our goal is not to occupy Gaza, our goal is to free Gaza." He is also pushing back against what he calls a "global campaign of lies" as condemnation of the plan grows both inside and outside Israel. He 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.
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.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

LeMonde
20 minutes ago
- LeMonde
Gaza: Tensions escalate between the Israeli government and military leadership
If further evidence was needed of the critical juncture Israel currently faces, recent clashes between Benjamin Netanyahu's government and the army's chief of the General Staff underscore tensions shaking the country all the way to the top of its military command. For about 10 days, Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, chief of the armed forces, was the target of personal attacks, criticism and public questioning from members of the governing coalition. One of the main instigators was the defense minister himself, Israel Katz, a loyal ally of the Israeli prime minister. The military escalation decided on by the Israeli government in the Gaza Strip, including the plan to gradually occupy the entire Palestinian enclave, has fractured the country since the security cabinet's announcement on Friday, August 8. The chief of the General Staff expressed his disagreement with this strategy both before and during the cabinet meeting, a stance deemed unacceptable by Netanyahu's supporters. "If that doesn't work for the chief of staff, he should resign," warned the prime minister's inner circle, according to Israeli media. Zamir shot back in a statement: "We will continue to express our positions without fear, in a substantive, independent and professional manner."


France 24
an hour ago
- France 24
Israeli minister announces settlement plan to 'bury the idea of a Palestinian state'
Israeli far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has approved plans for a settlement that would split East Jerusalem from the occupied West Bank, a move his office said would bury the idea of a Palestinian state. It was not immediately clear if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu backed the plan to revive the long-frozen E1 scheme, which Palestinians and world powers have said would effectively lop the West Bank in two and will likely draw international ire. In a statement headlined "Burying the idea of a Palestinian state," Smotrich's spokesperson announced the decision and said the development would build 3,401 houses for Israeli settlers between an existing settlement in the West Bank and Jerusalem. 07:00 Israel had frozen construction plans there since 2012 because of objections from the United States, European allies and other world powers who considered the project a threat to any future peace deal with the Palestinians. Palestinians fear the settlement building in the West Bank – which has sharply intensified since the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel that led to the Gaza war – will rob them of any chance to build a state of their own in the area. Settler violence has skyrocketed, from destruction of olive groves and cutting water and electricity in communities like Susiya, to incendiary attacks on Christian holy sites. There was no immediate statement from Netanyahu or the broader government. Smotrich's popularity has fallen in recent months with polls showing his party would not win a single seat if parliamentary elections were held today. The Palestinian foreign ministry called the new settlement plan an extension of crimes of genocide, displacement and annexation, and an echo of Netanyahu's statements regarding what he called 'Greater Israel'. Israel has long rejected accusations of genocide and rights abuses and said it is acting in its own defence. The E1 project would connect the Maale Adumim settlement in the West Bank with Jerusalem. Most of the international community views Israeli settlements in the West Bank, and its military occupation over the region since 1967, as illegal. Peace Now, which tracks settlement activity in the West Bank, said that the housing ministry had approved the construction of 3,300 homes in Maale Adumim. 'The E1 plan is deadly for the future of Israel and for any chance of achieving a peaceful two-state solution. We are standing at the edge of an abyss, and the government is driving us forward at full speed," Peace Now said in a statement. House building 'in a year' Peace Now said there were still steps needed before construction, including the approval of Israel's High Planning Council. But if all went through, infrastructure work could begin within a few months, and house building in about a year. Palestinians were already demoralised by the Israeli military campaign which has killed more than 61,000 people in Gaza, according to local health authorities, and fear Netanyahu will ultimately push them out of that territory. President Donald Trump added to their anxiety by proposing the United States will take over Gaza, build an international beach resort and displace its residents to countries such as Egypt and Jordan. About 700,000 Israeli settlers live among 2.7 million Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Israel annexed East Jerusalem in a move not recognised by most countries but has not formally extended sovereignty over the West Bank. The UN and most world powers say settlement expansion has eroded the viability of a two-state solution by fragmenting Palestinian territory. Israel disputes this, citing historical and biblical ties to the area, which it calls Judea and Samaria, and says the settlements provide strategic depth and security. Most of the international community considers all settlements illegal under international law, a position backed by numerous UN Security Council resolutions, including one which called on Israel to halt all settlement activity. Israel rejects this interpretation, saying the West Bank is "disputed" rather than occupied territory. Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand imposed sanctions in June on Smotrich and another far-right minister who advocates for settlement expansion, accusing both of them of repeatedly inciting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank Britain and other states have said that Israel must stop expanding settlements in the West Bank. Over the past 22 months, as Israel has waged war in Gaza, rights groups have said settler attacks and settlement expansion in the West Bank have risen sharply.


Euronews
2 hours ago
- Euronews
Greek police block protesters from approaching Israeli cruise ship
Riot police at Greece's largest port cordoned off an area around an Israeli cruise ship that arrived early on Thursday to prevent several hundred protesters from approaching the vessel. Protests have been held at Greek islands and mainland ports along the route of the Crown Iris, several of which have led to clashes with police. At the port of Piraeus near Athens demonstrators held flares and waved Palestinian flags behind a cordon formed with riot police buses. Protest organisers, citing online posts from travellers, said off-duty Israeli soldiers were among the passengers. "They are unwanted here and have no business being here," protest organiser Markos Bekris said. "The blood of innocent people is on their hands and we should not welcome them." Greece is a popular holiday destination for Israelis. But the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and global attention about the widespread destruction and severe food shortages have triggered hundreds of anti-Israel protests in Athens and other Greek cities, as well as a political confrontation. Left-wing opposition parties are calling on the conservative government to halt commercial and broad military cooperation with Israel. Demonstrations against Israel's military offensive in Gaza erupted in the city of Volos on Wednesday after the Crown Iris docked there. Local communities unfurled huge Palestinian flags and chanted pro-Palestine slogans as Israeli tourists disembarked from the cruise ship. Last month, the Crown Iris left the Greek island of Syros early without its passengers disembarking after more than 150 protesters demonstrated at the island's port. There have been similar protests at other stops on the Crown Iris' route such as in Rhodes and Crete. However, not all Greeks are on board with the demonstrations, including the country's Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis. "We owe an apology to these friends of Greece who chose to spend their holidays here and were forcibly denied it by some," he wrote on X last month following the incident in Syros. "Our country remains hospitable to all and antisemitism has no place here!"