Israeli minister hints at annexing parts of Gaza as hunger-related deaths mount
The comment by security cabinet member Zeev Elkin came a day after Britain said it would recognize a Palestinian state in September unless Israel takes steps to relieve suffering in Gaza and agrees to a ceasefire in the war with Hamas.
France, which said last week it would recognize a Palestinian state in September, and Saudi Arabia issued a declaration on Tuesday, backed by Egypt, Qatar and the Arab League, outlining steps toward implementing a two-state solution.
As part of an end to the Gaza war, they said Hamas "must end its rule in Gaza and hand over its weapons to the Palestinian Authority."
Israel has denounced moves to recognize a Palestinian state as rewarding Hamas for its October 2023 attack that precipitated the war.
Accusing Hamas of trying to drag out ceasefire talks to gain Israeli concessions, Elkin told public broadcaster Kan that Israel may give the group an ultimatum to reach a deal before further expanding its military actions.
"The most painful thing for our enemy is losing lands," he said. "A clarification to Hamas that the moment they play games with us they will lose land that they will never get back would be a significant pressure tool."
Mediation efforts aimed at reaching a deal that would secure a 60-day ceasefire and the release of remaining hostages held by Hamas ground to a halt last week, with the sides trading blame for the impasse.
Israel is facing mounting international pressure over the situation in Gaza, where a global hunger monitor has warned that a worst-case scenario of famine is unfolding. The Gaza Health Ministry reported seven more hunger-related deaths on Wednesday, including a two-year-old girl with an existing health condition.
Mixed reaction on recognizing Palestinian state
Though recognition of a Palestinian state is largely seen as a symbolic move, Gazan man Saed al-Akhras said he hoped it marked a "real shift in how Western countries view the Palestinian cause."
"Enough! Palestinians have lived for more than 70 years under killing, destruction and occupation, while the world watches in silence," he said.
Meanwhile, families of Israeli hostages still held in Gaza appealed for no recognition of a Palestinian state to come before their loved ones were returned.
"Such recognition is not a step toward peace, but rather a clear violation of international law and a dangerous moral and political failure that legitimizes horrific war crimes," the Hostages Family Forum said.
LISTEN | WHO says Palestinians in Gaza suffering from man-made starvation:
Gaza at 'tipping point' toward 'mass death by starvation': aid group
2 days ago
Israel is beginning limited pauses in fighting amid criticism over the hunger crisis in Gaza. Sana Bég, executive director for Doctors Without Borders Canada, warns the limited aid that has entered Gaza during these pauses is a 'trickle' in Gaza's 'vast ocean of needs.'
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday said Britain's decision "rewards Hamas's monstrous terrorism." Israel made similar comments last week after France's announcement.
Two Hamas officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the demand for the group to hand its weapons to the PA, which now has limited control of parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Hamas has previously rejected calls to disarm, while Israel has ruled out letting the PA run Gaza.
Netanyahu said this month he wanted peace with Palestinians but described any future independent state as a potential platform to destroy Israel, so control of security must remain with Israel.
His cabinet includes far-right figures who openly demand the annexation of all Palestinian land. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on Tuesday that reestablishing Jewish settlements in Gaza was "closer than ever," calling Gaza "an inseparable part of the Land of Israel."
Deaths from starvation, malnutrition reach 154
A two-year-old girl being treated for a build-up of brain fluid died overnight of hunger, her father told Reuters on Wednesday.
"Mekkah, my little daughter, died of malnutrition and the lack of medication," Salah al-Gharably said by phone from Deir Al-Balah. "Doctors said the baby has to be fed a certain type of milk ... but there is no milk," he said. "She starved. We stood helpless."
The deaths from starvation and malnutrition overnight raised the toll from such causes to 154, including at least 89 children, since the war's start, most in recent weeks.
On Sunday the Israeli military announced steps to ease the supply of food into Gaza, including daily pauses in military operations in some areas and corridors for aid.
WATCH | Aid entering Gaza is a 'trickle' in 'vast ocean of needs,' says aid group:
Israel resumes Gaza aid drops after international criticism over hunger crisis
3 days ago
Israel has resumed airdrops of aid into Gaza after it faced waves of international criticism over its role in Gaza's hunger crisis. The Israeli military also said it would begin a 'tactical pause' in three populated areas of Gaza for 10 hours a day to allow more humanitarian aid to be delivered.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said the United Nations and its partners had been able to bring more food into Gaza in the first two days of pauses, but the volume was "still far from enough."
"Most aid is still being offloaded by crowds before reaching where it is supposed to go. But market monitoring shows prices for basic goods are starting to drop — which could point to better operating conditions if aid flows further increase," it said in an update.
The war began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked communities in southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking another 251 hostage, according to Israeli tallies.
Since then, Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip has killed more than 60,000 people and laid waste to much of the territory, the Gaza Health Ministry says.
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CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
Netanyahu says Israel plans to take over all of Gaza in bid to destroy Hamas
TEL AVIV, Israel - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that to destroy Hamas Israel intends to take full control of the Gaza Strip and eventually transfer its administration to friendly Arab forces, as the Security Cabinet discussed a widening of its 22-month offensive. Expanding military operations in Gaza would put the lives of countless Palestinians and the roughly 20 remaining Israeli hostages at risk while further isolating Israel internationally. Israel already controls around three quarters of the devastated territory. Families of hostages held in Gaza fear an escalation could doom their loved ones, and some protested outside the Security Cabinet meeting in Jerusalem. Former top Israeli security officials have also come out against the plan, warning of a quagmire with little added military benefit. Relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages held by Hamas sail along the coast of Israeli southern city of Ashkelon towards the Gaza Strip, in a protest demanding their release from captivity and calling for an end to the war Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025.... Relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages held by Hamas sail along the coast of Israeli southern city of Ashkelon towards the Gaza Strip, in a protest demanding their release from captivity and calling for an end to the war Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa) An Israeli official had earlier said the Security Cabinet would discuss plans to conquer all or parts of Gaza not yet under Israeli control. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity pending a formal decision, said that whatever is approved would be implemented gradually to increase pressure on Hamas. Israel's air and ground war has killed tens of thousands of people in Gaza, displaced most of the population, destroyed vast areas and caused severe and widespread hunger. Palestinians are braced for further misery. 'There is nothing left to occupy,' said Maysaa al-Heila, who is living in a displacement camp. 'There is no Gaza left.' At least 42 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes and shootings across southern Gaza on Thursday, according to local hospitals. A new escalation could deepen Israel's isolation Asked in an interview with Fox News ahead of the Security Cabinet meeting if Israel would 'take control of all of Gaza,' Netanyahu replied: 'We intend to, in order to assure our security, remove Hamas there, enable the population to be free of Gaza.' 'We don't want to keep it. We want to have a security perimetre,' Netanyahu said in the interview. 'We want to hand it over to Arab forces that will govern it properly without threatening us and giving Gazans a good life.' The Security Cabinet, which would need to approve such a decision, began meeting Thursday evening, according to Israeli media, and it was expected to stretch into the night. Israel's military chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, warned against occupying Gaza, saying it would endanger the hostages and put further strain on the military after nearly two years of war, according to Israeli media reports. Hamas-led militants abducted 251 people and killed around 1,200 in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the war. Most of the hostages have been released in ceasefires or other deals but 50 remain inside Gaza, around 20 of them believed by Israel to be alive. Almost two dozen relatives of hostages set sail from southern Israel towards the maritime border with Gaza on Thursday, where they broadcast messages from loudspeakers. Yehuda Cohen, the father of Nimrod Cohen, an Israeli soldier held in Gaza, said from the boat that Netanyahu is prolonging the war to satisfy extremists in his governing coalition. Netanyahu's far-right allies want to escalate the war, relocate most of Gaza's population to other countries and reestablish Jewish settlements that were dismantled in 2005. 'Netanyahu is working only for himself,' Cohen said. Palestinians killed and wounded as they seek food Israel's military offensive has killed over 61,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not say how many were fighters or civilians. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals who keep and share detailed records. The United Nations and independent experts view the ministry's figures as the most reliable estimate of casualties. Israel has disputed them without offering a toll of its own. Of the 42 people killed on Thursday, at least 13 were seeking aid in an Israeli military zone in southern Gaza where UN aid convoys are regularly overwhelmed by looters and desperate crowds. Another two were killed on roads leading to nearby sites run by the Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an American contractor, according to Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies. GHF said there were no violent incidents at or near its sites on Thursday. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. The military zone, known as the Morag Corridor, is off limits to independent media. Hundreds of people have been killed in recent weeks while heading to GHF sites and in chaotic scenes around UN convoys, most of which are overwhelmed by looters and crowds of hungry people. The UN human rights office, witnesses and health officials say Israeli forces have regularly opened fire toward the crowds going back to May, when Israel lifted a complete 2 1/2 month blockade. The military says it has only fired warning shots when crowds approach its forces. GHF says its armed contractors have only used pepper spray or fired into the air on some occasions to prevent deadly stampedes. Israel and GHF face mounting criticism Doctors Without Borders, a medical charity known by its French acronym MSF, published a blistering report denouncing the GHF distribution system. 'This is not aid. It is orchestrated killing, ' it said. MSF runs two health centers very close to GHF sites in southern Gaza and said it had treated 1,380 people injured near the sites between June 7 and July 20, including 28 people who were dead upon arrival. Of those, at least 147 had suffered gunshot wounds -- including at least 41 children. MSF said hundreds more suffered physical assault injuries from chaotic scrambles for food at the sites, including head injuries, suffocation, and multiple patients with severely aggravated eyes after being sprayed at close range with pepper spray. It said the cases it saw were only a fraction of the overall casualties connected to GHF sites; a nearby Red Cross field hospital has independently reported receiving thousands of people wounded by gunshots as they sought aid. 'The level of mismanagement, chaos and violence at GHF distribution sites amounts to either reckless negligence or a deliberately designed death trap,' the report said. GHF said the 'accusations are both false and disgraceful' and accused MSF of 'amplifying a disinformation campaign' orchestrated by Hamas. The U.S. and Israel helped set up the GHF system as an alternative to the UN-run aid delivery system that has sustained Gaza for decades, accusing Hamas of siphoning off assistance. The UN denies any mass diversion by Hamas. It accuses GHF of forcing Palestinians to risk their lives to get food and say it advances Israel's plans for further mass displacement. By Melanie Lidman And Wafaa Shurafa Shurafa reported from Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip. Associated Press writers Josef Federman contributed from Jerusalem and Natalie Melzer contributed from Nahariya.
2 hours ago
Covering Gaza destruction from Hamilton, Palestinian journalist yearns to report again from place he loves
In the days after Oct. 7, 2023, journalist Fares Alghoul packed his suitcase, expecting to imminently leave his Hamilton home for Gaza to cover the war from the ground. That's how he'd covered Israel-Hamas wars and conflicts in Gaza in the past, as a chief correspondent for The Associated Press. But this time was different. He no longer lived in the Palestinian territory and foreign media were not allowed (new window) to enter, a rule that hasn't changed nearly two years later. Alghoul, 42, has not given up on returning, but in the meantime, he's settled for reporting on the war as a freelancer from halfway around the world. I am dreaming of the day I can go back, he said. I am emotionally attached to Gaza. I love Gaza. Born in Gaza, Alghoul is a permanent resident of Canada. His work means that although he, his wife and four children, including 11-month-old twin boys, are not experiencing the fear and hunger first hand, he's still following the impacts hour by hour, day by day. I keep watching the news, looking at the scale of destruction and realizing Gaza will never be the Gaza we knew, Alghoul said. We cannot stop saying how bad the situation is, how horrible it is in Gaza. WATCH | Netanyahu reportedly wants complete Gaza takeover: The most recent conflict began with a Hamas-led attack on Israel that killed about 1,200 Israelis and led to about 250 people being taken hostage in Gaza, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's subsequent, 22-month military offensive has left more than 61,000 Palestinians — mostly civilians — dead and wounded more than 140,000, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Journalists 'front-line witnesses' Palestinians are also experiencing widespread hunger, malnutrition and disease, according to over 100 international aid organizations that released a call for action (new window) in July. The statement was signed by organizations including Mercy Corps, the Norwegian Refugee Council and Refugees International. The World Food Program reports (new window) 500,000 people are enduring famine-like conditions. As of Tuesday, some 188 Palestinians, including 94 children, have died from hunger since the war began, according to Gaza authorities. Local journalists who have stayed in Gaza to document the impacts of the war also can't find clean water or enough food, the Committee to Protect Journalists, a non-profit that promotes global press freedom, said last month. Israel is starving Gazan journalists into silence, said regional director Sara Qudah in a statement July 23. They are not just reporters — they are front-line witnesses, abandoned as international media were pulled out and denied entry. Looking at a photo taken five years ago of about a dozen men sitting around a table smiling, Alghoul recounts what's happened to each of his friends and fellow journalists since. Two were killed in the war, a couple are reporting as he is from other countries and others remain in Gaza, but are struggling to feed themselves and their families, he said. Because they are journalists and still working, they can afford to buy food, but it's getting harder day by day, he said. The crisis is hitting everybody. A farm oasis Like many Palestinians in Gaza, Alghoul's life is shaped by wars. His eldest daughter, Somaya, was born during the First Gaza War in 2008-2009. When his wife went into labour, she had to go to the hospital as bombs fell, Alghoul said. His father was killed in that war, at their farm in northern Gaza, near the border with Israel, he said. The farmhouse was also destroyed, but he, his mother and other family members rebuilt it. Our farm was like our escape from the concrete jungle of Gaza, said Alghoul. Enlarge image (new window) Alghoul's family farm was near the Mediterranean Sea, as seen here before the Israel-Hamas war. Photo: Submitted by Fares Alghoul The farmhouse was bombed again in the 2014 war and his family rebuilt, again. It was bombed a third time, in 2021 fighting, but his family didn't give up hope and built it bigger and better than before, out of concrete and with three bedrooms and two bathrooms, he said. They replaced old citrus trees with new ones and spent some of the COVID-19 pandemic there, eating homegrown strawberries and melons, making their own bread and drinking fresh milk from their cows, Alghoul said. By then, his wife and two daughters had moved to Canada while he continued to report from Gaza. I was the expert because I have the connections, the contacts, the language, the culture — everything, he said. In May 2021, the Israeli military bombed (new window) The Associated Press's office where Alghoul worked, claiming Hamas was operating there. No one was injured, as they'd received a warning and evacuated shortly before, but the attack was condemned by press freedom groups that said it was a form of censorship. Alghoul joined his family in Canada soon after, going back to Gaza every few months to continue reporting. The last time he was there was in August 2023, on a family trip with his wife and daughters. They noticed a change in their homeland as Israel had eased some of its restrictions in Gaza, allowing people and goods to move more freely, Alghoul said. Gaza was recovering and reviving, he said. It had become more beautiful, the food was getting nicer. The atmosphere was real, genuine, unique — that's what I love about Gaza. Somaya saw a difference, too. It was really nice, she said. There was more life than before. I wanted to stay there. Grandmother remains in Gaza Weeks later, Hamas attacked Israel and the war began. Early on, his family's farmhouse and surrounding land were destroyed in Israeli attacks, Alghoul said. He said his family has not been able to access the area since as it is occupied by the Israeli military. Satellite images show the usually green landscape is now a sandy brown. Enlarge image (new window) Alghoul has been checking on his family's farm in northern Gaza through satellite images. On the left is how the neighbourhood looked before the war and on the right is what is looks like after Israeli bombing. Photo: Submitted by Fares Alghoul They have no plans to rebuild their farmhouse and have mostly all left Gaza for safer countries like Egypt, he said. His grandmother, uncle and cousins remain in Gaza City, where life is difficult and perilous, he said. They try to take care of her as much as they can, Alghoul said. My cousins risk their lives many times going to the aid distribution sites and truck routes to get whatever they could. He doesn't know how Gaza will recover or rebuild, even when the war ends. Enlarge image (new window) Palestinians carry sacks of flour taken from a humanitarian aid convoy en route to Gaza City on Aug. 1. Photo: Associated Press / Jehad Alshrafi How can it, he said, when people who have their own lives, their own homes have turned into people running to get food, exposing themselves to death and danger in order to feed their children? Several hundred Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since May while heading toward food distribution sites and aid convoys, according to witnesses, local health officials and the United Nations human rights office. The military says it has only fired warning shots and disputes the toll. While Alghoul plans to report from the ground as soon as he's allowed in, he said he's thankful he, his wife and children are now living in Canada. I know how horrible it is in Gaza. But I don't dare imagine my kids in that situation. I don't even dare. Samantha Beattie (new window) · CBC News Samantha Beattie is a reporter for CBC Hamilton. She has also worked for CBC Toronto and as a senior reporter at HuffPost Canada. Before that, she dived into local politics as a Toronto Star reporter covering city hall. With files from Reuters and The Associated Press
Winnipeg Free Press
2 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Israel losing Canadian hearts and minds as poll shows growing outrage over Gaza
OTTAWA – A new poll suggests Israel is losing the battle for hearts and minds in Canada, with more Canadians now reporting their sympathies lie with Palestinians due to moral outrage over the war in Gaza. Another poll suggests a slight majority of younger Canadians now say they're optimistic about the prospects for peace in the Middle East — just as the broader public's mood returns to the pessimism seen decades ago. 'There is absolutely disappointment in the actions of the current Israeli government,' said Adam Chapnick, a professor with the Royal Military College. 'That doesn't mean that they are long-term necessarily becoming less sympathetic to Israel as a whole.' The Angus Reid Institute conducted an online survey last week of a demographically weighted sample of 1,522 Canadian adults. Because the poll was conducted online, it can't be assigned a margin of error. Of the Canadians polled, 37 per cent said their sympathies lie with Palestinians, just 19 per cent said the same about Israelis and 27 per cent said they support both groups equally. When Angus Reid asked the same question in May 2024, 28 per cent reported feeling more sympathy for Palestinians, 25 per cent said they were more sympathetic to Israelis and 27 per cent said they supported both equally. When the pollster asked that question back in November 2023, shortly after the Hamas attack on Israel, just 18 per cent of Canadians leaned toward sympathizing with Palestinians, while Israelis received 28 per cent support. The new poll suggests some 62 per cent of Canadians see Israel's military actions since March of this year as 'excessive,' while just over half of Canadians believe Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. 'The perception in Canada that genocide is taking place has increased significantly from 41 per cent in February 2024 to 52 per cent now,' Angus Reid reports in the polling it released Thursday morning. At least two-thirds of those who say they vote for the Liberals, the NDP or the Bloc Québécois told Angus Reid they believe a genocide is taking place in Gaza, while 51 per cent of Conservative supporters disagreed with that statement. Some 64 per cent of Canadians told the pollster that what's happening in Gaza 'is a moral outrage,' a number that rises to 70 per cent among those aged 55 or older. Another 18 per cent of respondents say the humanitarian situation in Gaza is being 'overblown' in media reports, while just as many say they aren't sure. Angus Reid reports 61 per cent of Canadians now say they believe Israel 'is intentionally obstructing the distribution of aid and food to civilians in Gaza,' while 46 per cent say 'Hamas is stealing food and aid that should be going to civilians.' Hamas killed 1,200 people in its Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel. Israel's offensive in Gaza has killed 60,000 people, according to the Hamas-controlled health ministry. Israel says its aim is to rout Hamas and force it to return the hostages it took in the Oct. 7 attack. Many family members of the hostages have argued that the Israeli government's pursuit of the war is delaying their loved ones' release. Israel has insisted for weeks that Hamas is stealing food aid in large quantities, while international organizations and the United Nations have said there is no proof of this happening on a large scale. Israel used its claim about Hamas diverting aid to justify cutting off all food aid in the enclave for nearly three months. Israel has since set up a series of aid distribution sites in Gaza where Israeli troops and American contractors have shot dead hundreds of people seeking food. While Israel insists there is no starvation in Gaza, most other countries, prominent aid groups, doctors working on the ground and U.S. President Donald Trump have said otherwise. Of those polled by Angus Reid most recently, 74 per cent said they support Israel's right to exist and 63 per cent said peace is not possible in Israel while Hamas is still operating in Gaza. 'Canadians aren't that far from where they've traditionally been,' said Chapnick, who has researched the evolution of Canada's foreign policy through the decades. 'What they're saying is that Hamas has to be dealt with. They're not particularly happy with the way the Israeli government has dealt with Hamas. So Canadians seem to be more disappointed with the process than with the idea.' Chapnick said Israel's reputation in Canada going forward will likely depend on who succeeds Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. His government relies on the support of right-wing coalition members who have made numerous provocative statements and have threatened to topple the government if Netanyahu ends the war. Also, 61 per cent of respondents to the recent Angus Reid poll say they support Prime Minister Mark Carney's commitment to recognizing a Palestinian state — and 62 per cent said Canada should not back down from that position under pressure from the Trump administration. Another 54 per cent of those polled said Ottawa should do more to ensure it's not allowing exports of lethal arms to Israel. Chapnick said these numbers closely mirror Carney's policy choices. 'The prime minister and the public are on almost exactly the same page, and it's chicken-and-egg to know which actually came first,' he said, noting that support for Canada staying out of the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 surged after then-prime minister Jean Chrétien opted against joining the military mission. Another poll reports Canadians' stated confidence in the prospects for peace in the Middle East has returned to historical levels following the October 2023 attacks, with most Canadians now expressing pessimism. That poll of 1,579 Canadians, conducted by Leger Marketing for the Association for Canadian Studies between June 20 and 22, suggests 38 per cent of Canadians feel 'lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians can be reached in the future,' while 62 per cent disagree. The Leger numbers from late June do show a shift since January 2024, when 29 per cent of Canadians said they felt peace was possible and 60 per cent disagreed. Polling conducted in October 2023, when the Hamas attack was very fresh in Canadians' minds, found that just 19 per cent thought peace was possible and 51 per cent disagreed. Younger Canadians are more optimistic. The late June poll suggests that 53 per cent of Canadians aged 18 to 24 believe peace is possible. Leger cautions that the numbers were more ambivalent just two weeks prior, when the polling firm surveyed 1,511 Canadians between June 6 and 8 and gave respondents the option of saying they weren't sure or didn't want to answer. In that poll, only 28 per cent of Canadians reported being optimistic about peace, while 31 per cent said they did not want to answer or were not sure. Among those aged 18 to 24, 32 per cent chose not to answer the question and 40 per cent said that peace was possible. The polling industry's professional body, the Canadian Research Insights Council, says online surveys cannot be assigned a margin of error because they do not randomly sample the population. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 7, 2025.
