Netanyahu says Israel must complete defeat of Hamas to free hostages
Recent footage of weak and emaciated captives has sparked outrage in Israel, while UN experts also warn of an unfolding famine for Palestinians in Gaza.
Israeli media have said the premier is considering ordering the total occupation of Gaza, even as international pressure mounts for him to end the war, with a senior UN official warning Tuesday that expanding the fighting risked "catastrophic consequences".
"It is necessary to complete the defeat of the enemy in Gaza, to free all our hostages and to ensure that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel," Netanyahu said during a visit to an army training facility.
His office later said he had held a three-hour "security discussion" with army chief Eyal Zamir, but did not disclose any new war plans.
The premier's office has said the security cabinet will convene later in the week to approve new instructions.
Citing cabinet members, public broadcaster Kan said Netanyahu had "decided to extend the fight to areas where hostages might be held".
But some major media outlets such as Channel 12 have suggested that the rumoured expansion of operations might only be a negotiating tactic.
While the reported plan has not been approved, it has already drawn angry reactions from the Palestinian Authority and Gaza's Hamas-run government.
Hamas insisted such a move would not shift its position in ceasefire talks, demanding the withdrawal of all forces from Gaza.
"The ball is in the hands of... (Israel) and the Americans," senior Hamas official Hossam Badran told AFP, adding that the militant group wanted to "end the war and the famine".
UN assistant secretary-general Miroslav Jenca told the Security Council on Tuesday that a widening of the war "would risk catastrophic consequences for millions of Palestinians and could further endanger the lives of the remaining hostages".
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar was also in New York attending a Security Council meeting on the plight of the hostages.
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday expressed disgust over the videos released by Hamas, one of which showed an emaciated Israeli hostage purportedly digging his own grave.
"I hope a lot of people do get to see it, as bad as it is, because I think it's a horrible thing," Trump told reporters.
- 'Agreement must be reached' -
Over the war's 22 months, Israeli forces have devastated large parts of the Gaza Strip, where a humanitarian crisis has taken hold.
The war was sparked by Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to a tally based on official figures.
Palestinian militants also seized 251 hostages, 49 of whom remain held in Gaza including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.
The Israeli offensive has killed at least 61,020 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry.
Netanyahu has faced growing pressure on several fronts.
Domestically, families of hostages are demanding a ceasefire to bring their loved ones home.
And around the world, there are increasing calls for a truce to allow food into a starving Gaza.
The International Committee of the Red Cross on Tuesday said it was "ready to bring in medicine, food and family news for the hostages in Gaza", and to "scale up the delivery of life-saving aid safely to civilians".
But "to do this, an agreement must be reached between Israel and Hamas."
Meanwhile, Netanyahu's far-right coalition partners demand to keep fighting and reoccupy Gaza for the long haul, after Israel withdrew settlers and troops stationed there two decades ago.
- Aid 'exploited' -
Israel imposed a total blockade on Gaza in early March, which it only began easing more than two months later to allow a US-backed private agency, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), to open food distribution centres.
United Nations special rapporteurs called on Tuesday for the GHF to be immediately dismantled, saying aid was being "exploited for covert military and geopolitical agendas".
COGAT, the Israeli defence ministry body overseeing civil affairs in the Palestinian territories, said it would partially reopen private sector trade with Gaza to reduce its reliance on aid deliveries.
On the ground in Gaza, the civil defence agency said Israeli forces killed at least 56 Palestinians who were waiting near aid distribution sites on Tuesday.
The Israeli military told AFP troops had "fired warning shots" in the direction "a gathering of Gazans advancing" towards them near one of those sites, in the territory's south, but that it was "not aware of any casualties".
In northern Gaza, where the civil defence said 20 people were killed not far from an aid crossing, an AFP journalist saw bodies brought to Hamad Hospital.
The army told AFP it was looking into the report.
dc-hba-gla-lba/ami/smw/gv/bgs NewsWire
Just days after mocking Joe Root's Ashes record, David Warner's return to Lord's has ended in humiliation with a quick dismissal. NewsWire
Five Australians were on-board a tourist boat that capsized off Bali, killing two people and leaving another missing.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sky News AU
15 minutes ago
- Sky News AU
Media telling ‘half-truths' about Israel-Gaza conflict
GT Communications' Gemma Tognini slams the media for allowing itself to be 'manipulated' by the Israel-Gaza conflict. 'What we're talking about here is a historic issue with most of the media in relation to the state of Israel, and that's just committing modern-day blood libels,' Ms Tognini told Sky News host Andrew Bolt. 'In the context of the current situation in the Middle East, it's important for people to remember that many things can be true. 'The media has been allowing itself to be manipulated and telling half-truths about the situation in the Middle East.'
Sky News AU
27 minutes ago
- Sky News AU
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese shuts down idea of talking to Trump before making Palestinian statehood call
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been grilled on a looming decision on Palestinian statehood and whether he will speak with US President Donald Trump before making a call. The Prime Minister has come under growing pressure to clarify Australia's stance after other world leaders signalled their intentions to formally recognise Palestinian statehood Mr Albanese was pressed by the media pack at a press conference in Melbourne on Thursday about his looming decision on Palestine. When asked if he would talk to Trump before his government made a call on recognition of a Palestinian state, the Prime Minister responded, "We're a sovereign government'. 'And Australia makes decisions on behalf of the Australian government,' he said. Mr Albanese has been a longtime supporter of a two-state solution, and reiterated his hope to see Israelis and Palestinians living 'side-by-side in peace and security' on Thursday. 'And there are proposals obviously at the moment around and discussions taking place between world leaders. I think the entire international community is distressed by what we're seeing,' the Prime Minister told reporters. Following the Prime Minister's remarks, Nationals Senate Leader Bridget McKenzie claimed Mr Albanese was 'paving the way' for Australia to recognise a Palestinian state at the United Nations in September. 'I think what the Prime Minister's doing is paving the way for what I think will be a really negative decision by Australia on the floor of the UN,' Ms McKenzie told Sky News on Thursday. 'It sounds like the Prime Minister's paving the way to recognise a Palestinian state prior to Hamas's surrender in the war in Gaza. 'Now we are all distressed, any compassionate human being is distressed by the footage that is coming out and the human suffering that's coming out of Gaza as a result of this war. The reality is, it is always civilians and the vulnerable that are the most negatively impacted in war.' The Prime Minister's latest comments follow a phone call between him and French President Emmanuel Macron discussing the ongoing conflict in Gaza. The French President plans to recognise a Palestinian state at the UN in September and is set to be joined in the gesture by United Kingdom Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. Canada Prime Minister Mark Carney announced last week that his country intends to recognise the state of Palestine next month.
ABC News
2 hours ago
- ABC News
Afghanistan's Taliban has 'weaponised' the judicial system to oppress women, UN expert says
Afghanistan's Taliban rulers have "weaponised" the legal and judicial system to oppress women and girls in what amounts to "crimes against humanity", according to the independent UN investigator on human rights in the country. In a report to the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, local time, Richard Bennett said that after seizing power in 2021, the Taliban suspended the 2004 constitution and laws protecting the rights of women and girls. These include a landmark law that criminalised 22 forms of violence against women, including rape, and child and forced marriage. The Taliban dismissed all judges under the previous US-backed government, including approximately 270 women, replacing them with men who share their extreme Islamic views, lack legal training and hand down decisions based on edicts issued by the Taliban, he said. In addition, he noted that the Taliban has assumed full control over law enforcement and investigative agencies, systematically purging Afghans who worked for the previous government. Mr Bennett, who was appointed by the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council, focused on access to justice and protection for women and girls in his report. He said he held meetings, focus-group discussions, and one-on-one interviews with more than 110 Afghans inside and outside the country. He did so remotely because the Taliban has refused to grant him a visa to travel to Afghanistan. Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, its crackdown on women and girls has been widely reported and globally denounced. Taliban leaders have barred education for women and girls beyond sixth grade, banned most employment, and prohibited women from many public spaces, including parks, gyms and hairdressers. New laws ban women's voices and bare faces outside the home. The Taliban remains isolated from the West because of its restrictions on women and girls and has only been recognised by Russia. Mr Bennett said the Taliban did not respond to an advance copy of the report and a request for information about its efforts to ensure access to justice and protection for women and girls. The Taliban defends its approach to justice by claiming it is implementing Islamic sharia law, but Islamic scholars and others have said its interpretation is unparalleled in other Muslim-majority countries, and does not adhere to Islamic teachings. They say protecting the legal rights of women is a priority. Mr Bennett said, however, that women have virtually no rights. "Today, there are no women judges or prosecutors and no officially registered female lawyers, leaving women and girls with fewer safe channels to report abuse or seek redress," he wrote. "Coupled with a lack of female officials in the police and other institutions, the result is widespread under-reporting of violence and discrimination against women and girls." He said access to justice for girls "is further undermined by the dismantling of key legal safeguards and institutions protecting the rights of children," including juvenile courts and juvenile rehabilitation centres. The Taliban requirement that a woman must be accompanied by a male relative also creates barriers to filing complaints and attending court proceedings, he said, and disproportionately affects widows, women who are the heads of their households, the displaced and disabled. "Women who engage with the Taliban court system — whether as victims seeking redress, to resolve family issues, to obtain official documents or as alleged offenders — face a hostile environment," Mr Bennett said. Facing these obstacles, Mr Bennett said, women increasingly turn to traditional and informal justice mechanisms, including formal jirgas and shuras — community councils of elders — and informal mediation by religious leaders, community elders or family. But these are all male-dominated and raise "serious concerns about the rights of women and girls," he said. He said international forums offer the best hope for justice. He pointed to the International Criminal Court's request on January 23 for arrest warrants for two senior Taliban leaders accused of crimes against humanity for persecution "on gender grounds". And he urged all countries to support efforts to bring Afghanistan before the International Court of Justice, the UN's highest tribunal, for violating the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. AP
