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UPI
9 hours ago
- Politics
- UPI
U.N. leader: Israel's total Gaza takeover plan must be halted
Palestinian children on Thursday wait in western Gaza City for aircraft to drop aid by parachute amid Israeli attacks. Photo by Mahmoud Issa/UPI | License Photo Aug. 8 (UPI) -- The United Nations' human rights chief on Friday joined several nations' leaders condemning the plan by Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to expand military control of the Gaza Strip. Volker Turk, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, said in a statement: "The Israeli Government's plan for a complete military takeover of the occupied Gaza Strip must be immediately halted." Netanyahu's decision, approved by Israel's Security Cabinet overnight Thursday, was sharply criticized by Arab leaders, as well as leaders who are close allies of Israel, including British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, European Council President Ursula von der Leyen and European Commission President Antonio Costa. Germany announced it will suspend exports of arms to Israel that could be used in the Gaza Strip "until further notice. China, Australia and Pakistan have expressed concern, but Israel's closest ally, the United States, has not criticized the decision. Hamas said Israel's stance "constituted a war crime" and they are "taking all steps necessary to pave the way for an agreement." Turk said Israel's plan "runs contrary to the ruling of the International Court of Justice that Israel must bring its occupation to an end as soon as possible, to the realization of the agreed two-State solution and to the right of Palestinians to self-determination." Turk said further escalation "will result in more massive forced displacement, more killing, more unbearable suffering, senseless destruction and atrocity crimes." Though he said "the war in Gaza must end now," he said Israelis and Palestinians "must be allowed to live side by side in peace. Turk said Israel, instead of intensifying the war, "should put all its efforts into saving the lives of Gaza's civilians by allowing the full, unfettered flow of humanitarian aid. The hostages must be immediately and unconditionally released by Palestinian armed groups. Palestinians arbitrarily detained by Israel must also be immediately and unconditionally released." An estimated 90% of Gaza's 2.4 million residents have been displaced, the Agency for Palestinian Refugees said in May. Hamas invaded Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, with 1,000 people killed and 250 taken hostage. Israel began the war that day and more than 61,000 Palestinians, including women and children, have died, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry. Famine became widespread in Gaza when Israel blocked the entry of humanitarian aid in March. In July, nearly 12,000 children under 5 were identified as suffering from acute malnutrition with the situation worsening, said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the World Health Organization. On Thursday, he said so far this year that 99 people have died from malnutrition, including 29 under 5. He noted these numbers are likely underestimates. On July 27, Israel said there would be daily military pauses so aid can be delivered by the newly formed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Since May 27, at least 1,373 Palestinians have been killed seeking food: 859 near the foundation and 514 along the convoy routes, according to the Agency for Palestinian Refugees.
Straits Times
10 hours ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
UN chief calls Israeli plan to take control of Gaza City a ‘dangerous escalation'
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Palestinian boys inspect the site of a morning Israeli strike on a house, in Gaza City, August 8, 2025. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY WASHINGTON - United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday criticized Israel's plan to take control of Gaza City, with the U.N. chief's spokesperson saying the decision marked "a dangerous escalation" that will result in forced displacement of Palestinians. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT Israel's security cabinet has approved a plan to take control of Gaza City to further expand Israel's military offensive in the Palestinian enclave devastated by nearly a two-year Israeli assault. The plan drew strong criticism at home and abroad on Friday. When asked by Fox News' Bill Hemmer on Thursday if Israel would take over the entire coastal territory, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said "we intend to." KEY QUOTES "This decision marks a dangerous escalation and risks deepening the already catastrophic consequences for millions of Palestinians, and could further endanger more lives, including of the remaining hostages," the U.N. chief's spokesperson said in a statement. That decision "will result in additional forced displacement, killings and massive destruction, compounding the unimaginable suffering of the Palestinian population in Gaza," the statement added. Forced displacement is illegal under international law. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore PM Wong calls on S'poreans to band together for nation to remain exceptional in National Day message Singapore Nation building is every Singaporean's responsibility, not the work of one party alone: Pritam Singapore Four foreign leaders to attend NDP 2025 at the Padang Singapore 'This is home', for retired shop owner putting up 11th flag display in Toa Payoh to mark SG60 Singapore Singapore leaders send congratulatory letters to South Korean counterparts to mark 50 years of ties Singapore Relaxed rules 'not a silver bullet', but a step in right direction, say nightlife businesses Business Singapore's digital banks trim deposit rates, mirroring moves by incumbent players Singapore Chief Justice allows founder of site that ran fake KKH story to be called to the Bar CONTEXT Gaza's health ministry says Israel's military assault has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians. It has also caused a hunger crisis, internally displaced Gaza's entire population and prompted accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice and of war crimes at the International Criminal Court. Israel denies the accusations. Israel's offensive followed an October 2023 attack in which Palestinian Hamas militants killed 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages, Israeli tallies show. That attack sparked the latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict. REUTERS
Straits Times
11 hours ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
UN chief calls Israeli plan to take control of Gaza City a 'dangerous escalation'
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Palestinians inspect the site of a morning Israeli strike on a house, in Gaza City, August 8, 2025. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa WASHINGTON - United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday criticized Israel's plan to take control of Gaza City, with the U.N. chief's spokesperson saying the decision marked "a dangerous escalation" that will result in forced displacement of Palestinians. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT Israel's security cabinet has approved a plan to take control of Gaza City to further expand Israel's military offensive in the Palestinian enclave devastated by nearly a two-year Israeli assault. The plan drew strong criticism at home and abroad on Friday. When asked by Fox News' Bill Hemmer on Thursday if Israel would take over the entire coastal territory, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said "we intend to." KEY QUOTES "This decision marks a dangerous escalation and risks deepening the already catastrophic consequences for millions of Palestinians, and could further endanger more lives, including of the remaining hostages," the U.N. chief's spokesperson said in a statement. That decision "will result in additional forced displacement, killings and massive destruction, compounding the unimaginable suffering of the Palestinian population in Gaza," the statement added. Forced displacement is illegal under international law. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore PM Wong calls on S'poreans to band together for nation to remain exceptional in National Day message Singapore Nation building is every Singaporean's responsibility, not the work of one party alone: Pritam Singapore Four foreign leaders to attend NDP 2025 at the Padang Singapore 'This is home', for retired shop owner putting up 11th flag display in Toa Payoh to mark SG60 Singapore Singapore leaders send congratulatory letters to South Korean counterparts to mark 50 years of ties Singapore Relaxed rules 'not a silver bullet', but a step in right direction, say nightlife businesses Business Singapore's digital banks trim deposit rates, mirroring moves by incumbent players Singapore Chief Justice allows founder of site that ran fake KKH story to be called to the Bar CONTEXT Gaza's health ministry says Israel's military assault has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians. It has also caused a hunger crisis, internally displaced Gaza's entire population and prompted accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice and of war crimes at the International Criminal Court. Israel denies the accusations. Israel's offensive followed an October 2023 attack in which Palestinian Hamas militants killed 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages, Israeli tallies show. That attack sparked the latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict. REUTERS
UPI
20 hours ago
- Politics
- UPI
Israel's security cabinet OKs Netanyahu's plan to occupy Gaza
Palestinians gather at the Zikim crossing to obtain limited quantities of flour and essential food aid, as the hunger crisis deepens under the ongoing Israeli blockade of northern Gaza, Gaza, on Thursday on August 7, 2025. Overnight, Israel's security cabinet approved plans to occupy all of the Palestinian enclave. Photo by Mahmoud Issa/UPI | License Photo Aug. 8 (UPI) -- Israel's security cabinet overnight Thursday approved Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plan to take control of Gaza, despite staunch opposition, including from his own military, which warns that an increased offensive in the Palestinian enclave could endanger the lives of Israeli hostages. The prime minister's office described the plan early Friday as aimed at defeating Hamas, one of Israel's objectives in its nearly two-year-old war against the Iran-backed militia. "The IDF will prepare for taking control of Gaza City while distributing humanitarian assistance to the civilian population outside the combat zones," the prime minister's office said in a statement. The five principles of the plan approved include disarming Hamas, returning all hostages to Israel, demilitarizing Gaza, gaining security control of Gaza and establishing a civil administration that is neither Hamas, which governed the enclave for nearly two decades, nor the Palestinian Authority, which oversees partial control of the Israel-occupied West Bank. The Israel Defense Forces reportedly already control 75% of Gaza, with the remaining 25% mostly being Gaza City and the surrounding area where the majority of the roughly 2 million Palestinians now live. It is also believed that this is where the remaining 48 Israeli hostages are being kept. Not all are believed to be alive. Opposition leader Yair Lapid lambasted the plan in a statement, saying it is "what Hamas wanted," which is "for Israel to become bogged down in the field without a goal, without defining the vision for the date after, in a pointless occupation that no one understands where it leads." He accused Netanyahu of being "dragged" into the move by the far-right of his coalition government, saying it is "in complete contradiction" to the opinion of the military and security officials. The plan, he continued, does not consider the wear and exhaustion of combat forces and "will take many long months, lead to the death of the hostages, the killing of many soldiers, cost Israeli taxpayers tens of billions and result in diplomatic collapse." Shortly after the security cabinet's decision was announced, Britain came out against it, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer calling the order to escalate its offensive "wrong." "This action will do nothing to bring an end to this conflict or to help secure the release of the hostages. It will only bring more bloodshed," he said in a statement. "What we need is a cease-fire, a surge in humanitarian aid, the release of all hostages by Hamas and a negotiated solution." The announcement comes as Gaza faces a worsening humanitarian crisis that could worsen under the new offensive. On Wednesday, the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization reported that only 1.5% of Gaza cropland is both accessible and undamaged by the war. A day before, a group of U.N. experts called for the immediate dismantling of the Israel-formed and U.S.-supported Gaza Humanitarian Foundation on the grounds it is "an utterly disturbing example of how humanitarian relief can be exploited for covert military and geopolitical agendas in breach of international law." It said Israeli forces and foreign contractors have opened fire on people seeking aid at GHF distribution sites, killing nearly 1,400 people and injuring more than 4,000. There has been concern over the humanitarian situation in Gaza since the beginning of the war, but calls for relief have amplified as people have started to die from starvation. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, at least five people have died of starvation and malnutrition in the last 24 hours. A total of 193 people, including 96 children have died of starvation, it said. U.N. statistics show that famine is threatening Gaza. "This is unlike anything we have seen in this century," U.N. World Food Programme Ross Smith told reporters late last month.
Straits Times
7 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Hamas says it won't disarm unless independent Palestinian state established
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Palestinians climb onto trucks as they seek for aid supplies that entered Gaza through Israel in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, August 1, 2025. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa/File Photo Hamas said on Saturday that it would not disarm unless an independent Palestinian state is established - a fresh rebuke to a key Israeli demand to end the war in Gaza. Indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel aimed at securing a 60-day ceasefire in the Gaza war and deal for the release of hostages ended last week in deadlock. On Tuesday, Qatar and Egypt, who are mediating ceasefire efforts, endorsed a declaration by France and Saudi Arabia outlining steps toward a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and saying that as part of this Hamas must hand over its arms to the Western-backed Palestinian Authority. In its statement, Hamas - which has dominated Gaza since 2007 but has been militarily battered by Israel in the war - said it could not yield its right to "armed resistance" unless an "independent, fully sovereign Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital" is established. Israel considers the disarmament of Hamas a key condition for any deal to end the conflict, but Hamas has repeatedly said it is not willing to lay down its weaponry. Last month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described any future independent Palestinian state as a platform to destroy Israel and said, for that reason, security control over Palestinian territories must remain with Israel. He also criticised several countries, including the UK and Canada, for announcing plans to recognise a Palestinian state in response to devastation of Gaza from Israel's offensive and blockade, calling the move a reward for Hamas' conduct. The war started when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza. Israel's subsequent military assault on Gaza has turned much of the enclave into a wasteland, killed over 60,000 Palestinians and set off a humanitarian catastrophe. Israel and Hamas traded blame after the most recent round of talks ended in an impasse, with gaps lingering over issues including the extent of an Israeli military withdrawal. REUTERS
