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Business Standard
2 days ago
- Politics
- Business Standard
Israel's plan to take over Gaza City stirs fears for civilians and hostages
Egyptian and Qatari mediators are drafting a plan to free all Gaza hostages, dead or alive, in exchange for ending the war and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territory AP Jerusalem Israel's decision to intensify its 22-month war with Hamas by taking over Gaza City has stirred fears for Palestinian civilians and Israeli hostages still held in Gaza, and renewed international pressure for an end to the conflict. Israel's air and ground war has killed tens of thousands of people in Gaza, displaced most of the population, destroyed vast areas and pushed the territory toward famine. The timing of another major ground operation is unclear. It will likely require mobilising thousands of troops and forcibly evacuating civilians, almost certainly worsening Gaza's humanitarian crisis. An official familiar with the plans to take over Gaza City said the operation would be gradual and that there is no start date. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. The UN Security Council announced an emergency meeting on Israel's plans was rescheduled to 10 am EDT on Sunday after originally being scheduled to take place at 3 pm EDT on Saturday. The UN Mission of Panama, which holds the council presidency this month, provided no details, but Saturday is the Jewish Sabbath and Israel is certain to want to speak at the meeting. Mediators from Egypt and Qatar are preparing a new framework that will include the release of all hostages dead and alive in one go, in return for an end of the war in Gaza and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the strip, two Arab officials told The Associated Press. Before Israel's Security Cabinet approved the plan to take over Gaza City, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had outlined more sweeping plans on Thursday in an interview with Fox News, saying Israel planned to take control of all of Gaza. Israel already controls around three-quarters of the territory. Hamas rejected Israel's plans. Expanding of aggression against our Palestinian people will not be a walk in the park, the group said in a statement. Netanyahu had signalled plans for even broader war International powers, including Israeli allies France, Britain and Canada, have stepped up criticism of the war amid mounting shock over media reports showing starvation. Germany said on Friday it would not authorise the export of military equipment that could be used in Gaza until further notice. Tensions could rise further if Netanyahu follows through on the more sweeping plans to take control of the entire territory, two decades after Israel's unilateral withdrawal. Israel's new plan may be aimed in part at pressuring Hamas to accept a ceasefire on Israel's terms. It may also reflect the reservations of Israel's military chief of staff, Lt Gen Eyal Zamir, who reportedly warned that expanding operations would endanger the remaining 20 or so living hostages held by Hamas and further strain Israel's army after nearly two years of regional wars. The military will prepare to take control of Gaza City while providing humanitarian aid to the civilian population outside the combat zones, Netanyahu's office said in a statement after the Security Cabinet meeting. Amir Avivi, a retired brigadier general and chairman of Israel's Defense and Security Forum, estimated it would take less than three months to mobilise some 30,000 troops, evacuate Palestinian civilians and take over Gaza City. Hamas-led militants triggered the war when they stormed into Israel on October 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and abducting 251 people. Most of the hostages have been released in ceasefires or other deals but 50 remain inside Gaza. Israel believes around 20 of them to be alive. Israel's retaliatory campaign 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. 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. Mediators try again to end the war The efforts for a new ceasefire have the backing of major Arab Gulf monarchies, according to two officials who spoke anonymously due to the sensitivity of the discussions. One is involved directly in the deliberations and the second was briefed on the efforts. The monarchies are concerned about further regional destabilisation if Israel fully reoccupies Gaza, the officials said. The yet-to-be finalised framework aims to address the contentious issue of what to do with Hamas' weapons, with Israel seeking full disarmament and Hamas refusing. The official directly involved in the efforts said discussions are underway about freezing arms, which may involve Hamas retaining but not using its weapons. It also calls for the group to relinquish power in the strip. A Palestinian-Arab committee would run Gaza and oversee the reconstruction efforts until the establishment of a Palestinian administration with a new police force, trained by two US allies in the Middle East, to take over the strip, the official said. It is unclear what role the Western-backed Palestinian Authority would play. The second official said the US administration has been briefed on the broad lines of the framework. A senior Hamas official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to brief the media, said the group has yet to receive details on the latest efforts to revive ceasefire talks. AP reached out to the governments in Qatar, Egypt and Israel as well as the White House for comment. Wishes for an end to the war US envoy Steve Witkoff told hostage families during his recent visit that Israel was shifting its approach to pursue a comprehensive all-or-nothing deal aimed at ending the war and securing the release of hostages, a person who attended the meeting told the AP, speaking on the condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak about the private meeting. Israelis united behind the war in the aftermath of the October 7 attack, but dissent has steadily grown as hostages have languished in captivity. Some families of the hostages and their supporters have staged large protests calling for a ceasefire with Hamas that would bring their loved ones home. All of Israel wants a comprehensive deal and an end to the war, Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, said in a statement on Friday. For the State of Israel to guarantee the security of its citizens, we must end this injustice that has been done to our loved ones for 22 months. There is nothing here to occupy Israel has repeatedly bombarded Gaza City and carried out numerous raids there, only to return to neighborhoods again and again as militants regrouped. Today, it is one of the few areas in Gaza that has not been turned into an Israeli buffer zone or placed under evacuation orders. Umm Youssef from Gaza City said she had left the city for over 16 months before returning to her home. "The area is all rubble. Rubble is an overstatement, it is a sandpile. There is nothing here to occupy. There is no life here," she said. A major ground operation there could displace tens of thousands of people and further disrupt efforts to deliver food to the hunger-stricken territory. At least six Palestinians were shot dead and more than 140 were wounded on Friday at the Israeli-run Zikim Crossing in northern Gaza, where UN aid convoys enter, according to Dr Mohamed Abu Selmiya, the director of Shifa Hospital, which received the dead and wounded. He said all six were killed by Israeli gunfire. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. It is unclear how many people are still in Gaza City. Hundreds of thousands fled under evacuation orders in the opening weeks of the conflict, but many returned during a ceasefire earlier this year. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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Business Standard
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Business Standard
Israel plans to pack Gaza's population into closed border zone
Both Trump and Netanyahu have said Gaza's population should be relocated to other countries through what they refer to as voluntary emigration AP Jerusalem Israel's defence minister has outlined plans to pack hundreds of thousands of Palestinians into a closed zone of the Gaza Strip along the border with Egypt, according to local media reports. It appears to be the latest version of plans by the Israeli government to maintain lasting control over the territory and relocate much of its population of some 2 million. Critics say that would amount to forcible displacement in violation of international law because Israel's offensive and blockade have made Gaza largely uninhabitable. Israeli officials say the aim is to separate the civilian population from Hamas, which still controls parts of Gaza and holds dozens of hostages abducted in the Oct 7 attack that triggered the war 21 months ago. Palestinians would then be given the option of emigrating, they say. US President Donald Trump, who has said he is narrowing in on a ceasefire and hopes to eventually end the war, has also voiced support for the mass transfer of Palestinians out of Gaza. A humanitarian city atop the ruins of Rafah Defence Minister Israel Katz outlined the latest plans in a closed briefing with Israeli military reporters on Monday. His office did not respond to a request for comment on their reports, which appeared in several Israeli media outlets. Katz reportedly said he had ordered Israel's military to draw up plans to build what he called a humanitarian city in Rafah, Gaza's southernmost city, which has been heavily damaged in the war and is now largely uninhabited. Katz reportedly said that Palestinians would not be able to leave once they enter the zone. The military would initially move 600,000 Palestinians from an existing so-called humanitarian zone along the coast, with the aim of eventually transferring the whole population to Rafah. Katz said Israel was searching for an unspecified international body to deliver aid as Israeli troops secured the perimeter. He said the military could start building the city' during a 60-day ceasefire that Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are discussing in Washington this week. Hamas has said it will only release the remaining hostages in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces. Palestinians view Gaza as an integral part of their national homeland and oppose any plans to uproot them. Rights groups see preparations for mass expulsion Both Trump and Netanyahu have said Gaza's population should be relocated to other countries through what they refer to as voluntary emigration. During their meeting on Monday at the White House, Netanyahu said Palestinians should have a free choice on whether to stay or leave. Palestinians fear that even if they leave temporarily to escape the war, Israel will never allow them to return a possible repeat of the mass exodus that occurred before and during the 1948 war surrounding Israel's creation. Katz expressed hope that the emigration plan would happen and said Netanyahu was already leading efforts to find countries willing to take in Palestinians, according to Israel's Haaretz newspaper. Rights groups fear that concentrating the population along the border with Egypt would create catastrophic conditions that leave Palestinians no choice but to leave. Forcing people into what amounts to a large concentration camp echoes dark chapters of history," said Tania Hary, executive director of Gisha, an Israeli group advocating Palestinians' right to freedom of movement. "Israel's leadership hasn't been shy about the goal to expel Palestinians from Gaza and maintain permanent control over wide swaths of the territory, she said. An Israeli-backed aid system is already in place Israel and the US have already rolled out an aid distribution programme in Rafah that has been marred by violence and controversy. Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed or wounded while trying to reach sites run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a contractor supported by Israel and the US, according to local hospitals. Palestinian witnesses and health officials say Israeli forces have repeatedly opened fire toward crowds of people heading to the sites. The military says it has fired warning shots at people who approached its forces in what it describes as a suspicious manner. GHF denies there has been any violence in or around the sites themselves, which are in Israeli military zones off limits to independent media. Two US contractors told The Associated Press that their colleagues used live ammunition and stun grenades as crowds scrambled for food, allegations denied by the foundation. GHF has also denied involvement in any population transfer plans. But in a press conference in May, Netanyahu appeared to link the two initiatives, saying Israel would implement the new aid program and then create a sterile zone in southern Gaza, free of Hamas, where the Palestinian population would be relocated. Netanyahu has said Israel will maintain lasting control over Gaza and has ruled out any role for the internationally-recognised Palestinian Authority, led by political rivals of Hamas. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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Business Standard
22-06-2025
- Politics
- Business Standard
Netanyahu welcomes strikes on Iran, says US action will 'change history'
Your bold decision to target Iran's nuclear facilities, with the awesome and righteous might of the United States, will change history, Netanyahu said AP Jerusalem Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Trump's decision to attack in a video message directed to the American president. Your bold decision to target Iran's nuclear facilities, with the awesome and righteous might of the United States, will change history, he said. Netanyahu said the US has done what no other country on earth could do. President Donald Trump on Saturday announced that US forces had carried out a 'very successful attack' on three of Iran's major nuclear sites, declaring that Tehran's nuclear programme had been 'completely and totally obliterated.' The strikes, which came after days of deliberation but ahead of Trump's self-imposed two-week deadline, mark a major escalation in the conflict as the US formally joins Israel's military campaign against Iran. In a brief televised address from the Oval Office, Trump said: 'The strikes were a spectacular military success. Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally destroyed.' He warned Tehran that the path forward held 'either peace or tragedy,' and cautioned that many more targets remain on the US military's radar. 'If peace does not come quickly, we will go after those other targets with precision, speed and skill,' he added. According to CBS News, the US informed Iran via diplomatic channels that no further strikes were planned and that the US does not seek regime change. Trump confirmed that the targeted sites included Natanz, Isfahan, and Fordow. Speaking to Fox News, he said six bunker-buster bombs were used against the heavily fortified Fordow facility, while 30 Tomahawk missiles struck other nuclear sites. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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Business Standard
28-04-2025
- Politics
- Business Standard
Israeli jets intercepted Iranian planes aiding Syria's Assad: Netanyahu
The remarks in a speech gave a new glimpse into Israel's thinking in the final days in power for Assad, a longtime enemy who was overthrown by insurgents last December AP Jerusalem Israeli warplanes last year intercepted Iranian aircraft headed toward Syria, preventing them from delivering troops meant to assist the country's embattled president at the time, Bashar Assad, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday. The remarks in a speech gave a new glimpse into Israel's thinking in the final days in power for Assad, a longtime enemy who was overthrown by insurgents last December. Speaking to a conference hosted by the Jewish News Syndicate, a pro-Israel news agency, Netanyahu claimed that arch-rival Iran wanted to save Assad after watching the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group in neighbouring Lebanon suffer heavy losses in fighting with Israel. "They had to rescue Assad," Netanyahu said, claiming that Iran wanted to send "one or two airborne divisions" to help the Syrian leader. "We stopped that. We sent some F-16s to some Iranian planes that were making some routes to Damascus," he said. "They turned back." He gave no further details. In fighting last fall, Israel detonated hundreds of booby-trapped pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah, days before assassinating the group's leader, Hassan Nasrallah. Netanyahu told the crowd that he pushed forward the pager attacks after Israel learned that Hezbollah had grown suspicious and sent some of the devices to Iran for testing. "I said, 'We'll have to do it right away'," he said. Israel and a weakened Hezbollah reached a ceasefire in November, ending more than a year of fighting. Israeli forces remain in parts of southern Lebanon. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
