Israeli Security Cabinet Approves Plan to Take Full Military Control of Gaza
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office announced the decision on Thursday. Israeli authorities previously hinted that they intended such a move.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Plans to take Gaza City are met with defiance from war-weary Palestinians and anger by many Israelis
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel's decision to take over Gaza City was met with resignation and defiance by Palestinians who have survived two years of war and repeated raids. Many Israelis responded with fear and anger, worried it could be a death sentence for hostages held in Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Friday that Israel would intensify its 22-month war with Hamas by taking over Gaza City, large parts of which have been destroyed by past bombardment and ground incursions. A major ground operation is almost sure to cause more mass displacement and worsen an already catastrophic humanitarian crisis. 'What does (Israel) want from us? ... There is nothing here to occupy,' said a woman in Gaza City who identified herself as Umm Youssef. 'There is no life here. I have to walk every day for more than 15 minutes to get drinking water." Ruby Chen, a dual U.S.-Israeli citizen whose son, Itay, is a hostage held in Gaza, told The Associated Press that the decision puts the remaining hostages in danger. 'What is the plan now that is different from the last 22 months?' he said. Ehud Olmert, a former prime minister and harsh critic of Netanyahu, told the AP 'there's not any objective that can be achieved that's worth the cost of the lives of the hostages, the soldiers' and civilians, echoing concerns expressed by many former top security officials in Israel. 'I will die here' Netanyahu says military pressure is key to achieving Israel's war goals of returning all the hostages and destroying Hamas. On Thursday, he told Fox News that Israel intends to eventually take over all of Gaza and hand it over to a friendly Arab civilian administration. But Hamas has survived nearly two years of war and several large-scale ground operations, including in Gaza City. In a statement, the militant group said the people of Gaza would 'remain defiant against occupation' and warned Israel that the incursion 'will not be a walk in the park.' Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled Gaza City in the opening weeks of the war, the first of several mass displacements. Many returned during a ceasefire earlier this year. Now, residents say they are too busy searching for food and trying to survive amid the city's bombed-out buildings and tent camps to think about another exodus. 'I have no intention to leave my home, I will die here," said Kamel Abu Nahel from the city's urban Shati refugee camp. Israel already controls and has largely destroyed around 75% of the Gaza Strip, with most of its population of some 2 million Palestinians now sheltering in Gaza City, the central city of Deir al-Balah and the sprawling displacement camps in the Muwasi area along the coast. The offensive has killed over 61,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not say how many were fighters or civilians. It says women and children make up around half the dead. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals. The United Nations and other experts consider its figures to be the most reliable estimate of casualties, while Israel disputes them. Ismail Zaydah said he and his family had remained in Gaza City throughout the war. 'This is our land, there is no other place for us to go,' he said. 'We are not surrendering ... We were born here, and here we die." 'This madman called Netanyahu' Hamas-led militants abducted 251 people in the Oct. 7, 2023 attack that started the war and killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians. Though most of the hostages have been released in ceasefires or other deals, 50 are still in Gaza, less than half of them believed by Israel to be alive. Relatives of many of the hostages and their supporters have repeatedly protested against the continuation of the war, demanding that Israel reach a ceasefire with Hamas that would include the return of their loved ones. The long-running talks broke down last month. 'Somebody's got to stop this madman called Netanyahu,' said Yehuda Cohen, whose son Nimrod is held hostage. He said faith in the United States to help is also dwindling. 'I lost hope with Donald Trump ... he's letting Netanyahu just do whatever he likes,' he said. But other Israelis voiced support for the decision. 'They need to go after Hamas,' said Susan Makin, a Tel Aviv resident. 'Why are they not asking why Hamas has not given back the hostages and put (down) their arms?' The agony around the plight of the hostages has worsened in recent days as Palestinians militants have released videos showing two of the captives emaciated and pleading for their lives. Families fear their loved ones, who may be held in other parts of Gaza, are running out time. Amir Avivi, a retired Israeli general and chairman of Israel's Defense and Security Forum, said there are a few hostages in Gaza City and the army will have to decide how to manage the situation. He said they might be able to surround the hostages and negotiate directly with their captors or leave those areas untouched. Under pressure, Hamas might decide to release the captives, he said. That strategy carries great risk. Last year, Israeli forces recovered the bodies of six hostages who were killed by their captors when troops approached the tunnel where they were being held. ___ Shurafa reported from Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip. Associated Press reporter Shlomo Mor in Tel Aviv contributed. ___ Follow AP's war coverage at
Wall Street Journal
4 hours ago
- Wall Street Journal
Gaza Takeover Plan Exposes Constraints on Israeli Military
Israeli authorities say the occupation of the entire Gaza Strip threatened by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is to start with a narrower goal—seizing control of Gaza City—reflecting serious resource constraints that are likely to limit the pace and scope of military operations. After nearly two years of intense conflict sparked by an assault on southern Israel by Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas that killed around 1,200 people, Israel's troops are exhausted, and a large majority of citizens say they want a deal to end the war and free hostages still held by Hamas.
6 hours ago
Trump administration seeks $1 billion settlement from UCLA, a White House official says
The Trump administration is seeking a $1 billion settlement from the University of California, Los Angeles, a White House official said Friday, weeks after the Department of Justice accused the school of antisemitism and other civil rights violations. UCLA is the first public university to be targeted by a widespread funding freeze over allegations of civil rights violations related to antisemitism and affirmative action. President Donald Trump's administration has frozen or paused federal funding over similar allegations against elite private colleges. In recent weeks, the administration has struck deals with Brown University for $50 million and Columbia University for $221 million but has explored larger settlements, such as in its ongoing battle with Harvard University. The White House official did not detail any additional demands the administration has made to UCLA or elaborate on the settlement amount. The person was not authorized to speak publicly about the request and spoke on condition of anonymity. The Trump administration had suspended $584 million in federal grants for UCLA, the university said this week. The Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division issued a finding that UCLA violated the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 'by acting with deliberate indifference in creating a hostile educational environment for Jewish and Israeli students.' The university had drawn widespread criticism for how it handled dispersing an encampment of Israel-Hamas war protesters in 2024. One night, counterprotesters attacked the encampment, throwing traffic cones and firing pepper spray, with fighting that continued for hours, injuring more than a dozen people, before police stepped in. The next day, after hundreds defied orders to leave, more than 200 people were arrested. Later, Jewish students said demonstrators in encampments blocked them from getting to class. The University of California's president, James B. Milliken, said Friday the university had 'just received' a document from the Department of Justice and would review it. He said the size of the proposed settlement would 'devastate' the University of California, whose campuses are viewed as some of the top public colleges in the nation. 'Earlier this week, we offered to engage in good faith dialogue with the Department to protect the University and its critical research mission,' said Milliken, who started as president last week. 'As a public university, we are stewards of taxpayer resources and a payment of this scale would completely devastate our country's greatest public university system as well as inflict great harm on our students and all Californians.' California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday accused Trump of trying to silence academic freedom in his attack on such a prestigious public university system. 'He has threatened us through extortion with a billion-dollar fine unless we do his bidding,' Newsom told reporters. Apparently referencing the settlements with Columbia and Brown, he added: 'We will not be like some of those other institutions that have followed a different path.' The $1 billion demand in the UCLA settlement is linked to Newsom's status as one of Trump's most outspoken foes, said Peter McDonough, vice president and general counsel at the American Council on Education, an association of college presidents. 'Anyone who thinks this appalling demand is not blatantly political and ideological has their head in the sand,' McDonough said. 'Of course it's influenced by the fact that UCLA sits within the California system and the California system sits within the state of California.' The Trump administration has used its control of federal funding to push for reforms at elite colleges that the president decries as overrun by liberalism and antisemitism. The administration also has launched investigations into diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, saying they discriminate against white and Asian American students. Last month, Columbia University agreed to pay $200 million as part of a settlement to resolve investigations into the government's allegations that the school violated federal antidiscrimination laws. The agreement also restored more than $400 million in research grants. The Trump administration is using its deal with Columbia as a template for other universities, with financial penalties that are now seen as an expectation. For instance, the administration is pressing for a deal that would require Harvard to pay far more than Columbia's $200 million. Harvard leaders have been negotiating with the White House even as they battle in court to regain access to billions in federal research funding terminated by the Trump administration. UCLA has already reached one settlement about the 2024 protests. The university agreed last week to pay $6 million to settle a lawsuit from three Jewish students and a Jewish professor who argued the university violated their civil rights by allowing pro-Palestinian protesters to block their access to classes and other areas on campus in 2024. UCLA initially had argued that it had no legal responsibility over the issue because protesters, not the university, blocked Jewish students' access to areas. The university also worked with law enforcement to thwart attempts to set up new protest camps. But in a preliminary injunction a year earlier, U.S. District Judge Mark Scarsi disagreed and ordered UCLA to create a plan to protect Jewish students on campus. The University of California has since created systemwide campus guidelines on protests, with an Office of Campus and Community Safety at UCLA. As part of the settlement, UCLA said it will contribute $2.3 million to eight organizations that combat antisemitism and support the university's Jewish community. UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk, whose Jewish father and grandparents fled Nazi Germany to Mexico and whose wife is the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, also launched an initiative to combat antisemitism and anti-Israeli bias.
