Latest news with #Arabforces
The Guardian
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
'Nothing left to occupy': Palestinians react to Netanyahu's Gaza plan
Palestinians in Gaza expressed fear, frustration and exhaustion on Thursday after the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said he wants Israel to take military control of the entire Gaza Strip. Those displaced by the fighting offered their opinions hours after Netanyahu told Fox News that Israel intended to take over the entire territory for security purposes but did not plan to govern it long-term. He said the aim would be to eventually hand over control to Arab forces, though he gave no specifics over what that could entail
The Independent
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Starmer issues warning as Israel approves plan to take control of Gaza City
Israel 's political-security cabinet approved a plan to 'take control ' of Gaza City, expanding military operations despite intensifying criticism at home and abroad. The decision was made amid a rising international outcry over a deepening humanitarian disaster in Gaza and after multiple failed attempts to mediate a ceasefire. Prime Minister Netanyahu stated Israel intends to take military control of the entire Gaza Strip but wants Arab forces to govern it, not to occupy it long-term. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Australia urged Israel to reconsider the plan, warning it would not help end the conflict or secure hostage releases. The move faces internal opposition from some Israeli military officials and citizens who believe it could jeopardise the lives of remaining hostages.
Bloomberg
5 days ago
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Israeli Cabinet Approves Netanyahu's Gaza Takeover Plan
00:00 Israel's security cabinet has approved Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plans to take full control of Gaza City. The move is seen as a final push to topple Hamas and 22 months of fighting in Gaza. Netanyahu told Fox News Channel he intends to hand over Gaza's governance to Arab forces. Well, we don't want to keep it. We want to have a security perimeter. We don't want to govern it. We don't want to be there as a governing body. We want to hand it over to our forces that will govern it properly without threatening us and giving Gazans a good life. That's not possible with Hamas. Let's go to Jerusalem now and speak to Bloomberg's Don Williams. So the Israeli prime minister is describing this as a military operation, not an occupation. And yet Israel still effectively controls around 70% of the Gaza Strip. Why this latest push into Gaza City done? To hear the Israelis tell it, it's the end, or at least the beginning of the end of this war. Israel's longest of Hamas, at least in terms of Hamas being an armed governing group in the Gaza Strip. It's worth noting that this war really has been a strain on Israel's conscript military, on its economy. It's plunged Palestinians in Gaza into unprecedented humanitarian distress, and it's tested the patience even of Israel's best friends abroad in the region, in Western Europe and the United States. So it would appear now that the two choices were either for Israel to capitulate in terms of giving up on its Cold War goals, of retrieving the 50 hostages while eliminating Hamas, or to press ahead into this last patch of Gaza land in order to crush Hamas militarily. Now, there was a ten hour cabinet meeting that took place, which tells you that the meeting itself was pretty fraud. But I want to ask you about broader Israeli public opinion. It was notable this week that the Israeli, a former Israeli military chief, actually cautioned against pushing further militarily into the Gaza Strip. You had the leader of the opposition, Yair Lapid, yesterday saying most of the nation is in behind you. The people of Israel don't want this war. We will bear heavy costs for it. How is this likely to go down amongst the Israeli public? Not well for at least six months now. Polls have shown that a majority of Israelis want the war ended with a negotiated deal to return the hostages, even if that means leaving Hamas standing. That's in stark opposition to what Netanyahu and his religious nationalist government have been pursuing here. The prime minister has written off those poll findings saying they're either inaccurate or that Israelis don't understand the implications, the ramifications of leaving Hamas around. This is an organization which is deemed a terrorist group by much of the West. It began this war with an attack on Israel that was Israel's worst, in fact, the worst the bloodiest day for Jews since World War Two. There's a matter here not just of national security, but also of national honor in terms of finishing the war where it began, Netanyahu can claim to have seriously set back Hamas allies in Lebanon, Iran, Syria, But we're now back to Gaza to square one. And he seems determined to be able to declare victory there. Yeah. Despite a lot of pressure from the international community, something that we've been talking about on this show the last few weeks, the real push out of many European states and other countries around the world to move towards the recognition of a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly come September. But the big one is the US. And the question here is, does Netanyahu have the explicit or even the implicit support of the United States for this operation? I know you spoke to the US ambassador to Israel earlier this week. Indeed, I would say it's explicit. Trump himself has said he's fed up with Hamas. He's expressed horror at the treatment of the hostages as 50 hostages, or at least the 20, he believes still are still alive in Hamas captivity. And indeed, the Americans appear to have built up a kind of tag team relationship with Israel, whereby Israel does the fighting and the United States does the feeding. What I mean by that is there is this new substitute humanitarian aid system in Gaza known as the F. It had a tricky rollout. There have been issues with safety for aid seekers and now it appears the Americans want to quadruple its output in concert with the Israeli moves into the remaining 25% of the Gaza Strip. So we can expect to see civilians that are evacuated or dislocated from Gaza, from Gaza City being invited to new Jewish centers to be tended to, at least when it comes to staple foods and the like, something the allies hope will allow will smooth over what's found to be a very, very rough patch of this war.
Japan Times
5 days ago
- Politics
- Japan Times
Israel approves plan to take control of Gaza City
Israel's political-security Cabinet approved a plan early on Friday to take control of Gaza City, as the country expands its military operations despite intensifying criticism at home and abroad over the devastating almost 2-year-old war. "The IDF will prepare to take control of Gaza City while providing humanitarian aid to the civilian population outside the combat zones," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement, referring to the Israeli Defense Forces. While Netanyahu said on Thursday Israel intended to take military control of the entire Gaza Strip, the plan approved on Friday focused specifically on Gaza City, the largest city in the enclave, located in its north. Axios reporter Barak Ravid, citing an Israeli official, said on X that the plan involved evacuating Palestinian civilians from Gaza City and launching a ground offensive there. Asked if Israel would take over the entire coastal territory, Netanyahu told Fox News Channel's Bill Hemmer in an interview on Thursday: "We intend to." But he said Israel wanted to hand over the territory to Arab forces that would govern it. He did not elaborate on the governance arrangements or which Arab countries could be involved. "We don't want to keep it. We want to have a security perimeter. We don't want to govern it. We don't want to be there as a governing body," he said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during an event in Jerusalem last month | AFP-Jiji Israeli officials described a previous meeting this week with the head of the military as tense, saying military chief Eyal Zamir had pushed back on expanding Israel's campaign. Among the scenarios being considered ahead of the security meeting was a phased takeover of areas in Gaza not yet under military control, one government source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Evacuation warnings could be issued to Palestinians in specific areas of Gaza, potentially giving them several weeks before the military moves in, the person added. In its Friday statement, Netanyahu's office said the vast majority of the political-security Cabinet members believed that "the alternative plan presented in the cabinet would not achieve the defeat of Hamas nor the return of the hostages." Two government sources said any resolution by the security cabinet would need to be approved by the full cabinet, which may not meet until Sunday. Total control of the territory would reverse a 2005 decision by Israel by which it withdrew Israeli citizens and soldiers from Gaza, while retaining control over its borders, airspace and utilities. An Israeli military vehicle moves along Israel's southern border with the Gaza Strip on Tuesday. | AFP-Jiji Right-wing parties blame that withdrawal decision for the militant Palestinian group Hamas gaining power there in a 2006 election. It was unclear whether Netanyahu was foreseeing a prolonged takeover or a short-term operation. Israel has repeatedly said it aims to dismantle Hamas and free Israeli hostages. Hamas in a statement called Netanyahu's comments "a blatant coup" against the negotiation process. "Netanyahu's plans to expand the aggression confirm beyond any doubt that he seeks to get rid of his captives and sacrifice them," the statement said. Arab countries would "only support what Palestinians agree and decide on," a Jordanian official source said, adding that security in Gaza should be handled through "legitimate Palestinian institutions." Hamas official Osama Hamdan told Al Jazeera the group would treat any force formed to govern Gaza as an "occupying" force linked to Israel. Earlier this year, Israel and the United States rejected an Egyptian proposal, backed by Arab leaders, that envisaged the creation of an administrative committee of independent, professional Palestinian technocrats entrusted with the governance of Gaza after the war. Protestors stand outside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office to demand a ceasefire and the immediate release of the hostages kidnapped by Hamas, in Jerusalem, on Thursday. | REUTERS Opinion polls show most Israelis want the war to end in a deal that would see the release of the remaining hostages. The White House had no immediate comment. U.S. President Donald Trump has declined to say whether he supported or opposed a potential full military takeover of Gaza by Israel. Netanyahu's government has insisted on total victory over Hamas, which ignited the war when it staged a deadly October 2023 attack on Israel from Gaza. The U.N. has called reports about a possible expansion of Israel's military operations in Gaza "deeply alarming" if true. The idea, pushed especially by far-right ministers in Netanyahu's coalition, of Israeli forces moving into areas they do not already hold in the enclave has also generated alarm in Israel. There are 50 hostages still held in Gaza, of whom Israeli officials believe 20 are alive. Most of those freed so far emerged as a result of diplomatic negotiations. Talks toward a ceasefire that could have seen more hostages released collapsed in July. A senior Palestinian official said Hamas had told Arab mediators an increase in humanitarian aid entering Gaza would lead to a resumption in ceasefire negotiations. Israeli officials accuse Hamas of seizing aid to hand to its fighters and to sell to finance its operations, accusations the militant group denies. Videos released last week of two living hostages showed them emaciated and frail, stirring international condemnation. Recent images of starving children from Gaza have also shocked the world and fueled international criticism of Israel over the sharply worsening conditions in the enclave. Hamas, which has ruled Gaza for nearly two decades but now controls only fragmented parts, insists any deal must lead to a permanent end to the war. Israel says the group has no intention of going through with promises to give up power afterward.
The Independent
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Netanyahu says he wants Israel to take control of all of Gaza before handing it to ‘Arab forces'
Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel intends to take full military control of the Gaza Strip before handing over governing responsibilities to Arab forces. The Israeli prime minister spoke to Fox News' Bill Hemmer ahead of a key security cabinet meeting to decide whether to order a full military occupation of the war-torn strip - a move that UN officials have said would have 'catastrophic consequences'. When asked if Israel would take control of the entire 26-mile strip, Mr Netanyahu said on Wednesday: 'We intend to.' 'We don't want to keep it. We want to have a security perimeter,' he continued. 'We don't want to govern it. We don't want to be there as a governing body.' He said that Israel instead wanted to hand over the territory to Arab forces that would govern it, although it remains unclear who would take on the role. Hamas has said that Mr Netanyahu's statements 'confirm that he seeks to get rid of his prisoners and sacrifice them to serve his personal interests and extremist ideological agendas.' They added: 'We affirm that Gaza will remain resistant to the occupation and attempts to impose guardianship over it. 'Expanding the aggression against our Palestinian people will not be a walk in the park, and the price will be heavy and costly for the occupation...' Meanwhile, a Jordanian official told Reuters that Arabs would 'only support what Palestinians agree and decide on,' affirming that 'security in Gaza must be done through legitimate Palestinian institutions'. The security cabinet session follows a meeting this week with the head of the military, which Israeli officials have described as tense as Israel's military chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, pushed back on expanding the campaign. Israeli media has said Netanyahu sees this as the only way to destroy Hamas and free the remaining hostages following a breakdown of ceasefire talks. But Lt. Gen. Zamir and some other ministers have warned this move could be disastrous for the hostages and the population within Gaza. Opinion polls show that most Israelis want the war to end in a deal that would see the release of the remaining hostages held by Hamas. It is believed that of the 50 remaining hostages inside Gaza, around 20 are still alive. Families of the hostages and released hostages, alongside hundreds of supporters, gathered to protest outside the Israeli cabinet session in Jerusalem on Wednesday evening. The families chained themselves in front of government offices. Anat Angrest, mother of the still-captive Matan Angrest, said: 'For a year and ten months we've been trying to believe that everything is being done to bring them back - you have failed. 'Now it's necessary to do the one thing the government hasn't yet done - put a comprehensive deal on the table that will bring them all home together. 'Exactly a year ago, we were told that military pressure would bring them home - a few weeks after that, six hostages were murdered in tunnels.' Meanwhile, Omar Awadallah, the Palestinian deputy foreign minister, told The Independent he believes that Netanyahu's statements were intended to tank any ceasefire deal and that true security for Israelis and Palestinians can only come through peace not more conflict. 'Netanyahu saying this is an attempt to undermine any effort for a real ceasefire in the Gaza Strip - he is using this smoke screen of controlling all of Gaza while Israel is all ready the occupying power,' he said. 'We believe that security comes with peace, not with not reoccupying Gaza or committing genocide against the Palestinian people or violating international law.' 'Security comes with peace, with stability, with what the international community is willing to do to achieve that. He said that while Palestinians welcomed additional pressure on Israel from countries like the UK and France, who have pledged to recognise the state of Palestine under certain conditions. 'To the international community, are we going to accept apartheid colonialism in the 21 century?', he said. 'This is our problem with the international community and some international players - you should take action. Words are not not enough.' As Mr Netanyahu discussed the next steps of Israel's military expansion, at least 42 Palestinians were killed in airstrikes and shootings across southern Gaza, according to local hospitals 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 controversial US and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), according to Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) released a report on Thursday in which it called for an end to the dismantling of the controversial aid organisation's scheme, as well as the restoration of the UN-coordinated aid delivery mechanism. Raquel Ayora, MSF General Director for MSF Spain, said: 'In MSF's nearly 54 years of operations, rarely have we seen such levels of systematic violence against unarmed civilians.' 'The GHF distribution sites masquerading as 'aid' have morphed into a laboratory of cruelty,' said Ayora. 'This must stop now.'
