Israel will 'take control of all' of Gaza : Netanyahu

Al-Ahram Weekly

19-05-2025

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that Israel will "take control" of the whole of Gaza, as the military pressed a newly intensified campaign in the war-ravaged territory.
After Israel announced it would let a "basic amount" of food into the Gaza Strip, Netanyahu said it was necessary to prevent a famine for "diplomatic reasons".
In Gaza, rescuers said air strikes killed at least 22 people, after the military announced it had begun "extensive ground operations" in the territory .
"The fighting is intense and we are making progress. We will take control of all the territory of the Strip," Netanyahu said in a video posted on Telegram.
"We will not give up. But in order to succeed, we must act in a way that cannot be stopped."
Israel has come under mounting international pressure, including from key backer the United States, to lift a total blockade it imposed on Gaza more than two months ago.
"We must not let the population (of Gaza) sink into famine, both for practical and diplomatic reasons," Netanyahu said, adding that even friends of Israel would not tolerate "images of mass starvation".
In a report this month, the UN- and NGO-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification said Gaza was at "critical risk of famine", with 22 percent of the population facing an imminent humanitarian "catastrophe".
'Reduced to starvation'
Israel has been blocking all humanitarian aid into Gaza since March 2, with the UN agencies warned of critical shortages of food, clean water, fuel and medicines.
Last week US President Donald Trump acknowledged that "a lot of people are starving", adding "we're going to get that taken care of".
In his inaugural mass, Pope Leo XIV called on the faithful not to forget "our brothers and sisters who are suffering because of war.
"In Gaza, the surviving children, families and elderly are reduced to starvation," he said.
But Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir argued against any resumption of aid, saying on X: "Mr Prime Minister, our hostages receive no humanitarian aid."
"The Prime Minister is making a serious mistake in this move, and he has no majority at all. Hamas must only be crushed, and not at the same time provided with oxygen for its survival," he said in a statement.
'No one left'
On Monday, there were heavy strikes in and around the main southern city of Khan Yunis, where civil defence agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal said 11 people were killed and several others wounded.
Bassal also reported another 11 deaths in strikes on other parts of the territory.
AFPTV footage from Gaza on Sunday showed people sifting through ruined shelters and rescuers treating the wounded.
"All my family members are gone. There is no one left," said a distraught Warda al-Shaer.
"The children were killed as well as their parents. My mother died too, and my niece lost her eye."
The United Nations had warned of the risk of famine in Gaza before the aid blockade was imposed.
Palestinian health ministry said Sunday at least 3,193 people in Gaza have been killed since Israel resumed its war on March 18, taking the war's overall toll to 53,339.
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