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NZ Herald
3 days ago
- Politics
- NZ Herald
Gaza City the initial focus of takeover plan approved against recommendations of the Israeli military
It is likely to take the military days, at least, to call up reserve forces, carry out troop deployments for a push into Gaza City and allow time for the forced evacuation of tens of thousands of Palestinians from the new areas of combat. The Cabinet also approved five principles for ending the war, including: Disarming of Hamas; Return of all 50 hostages, 20 of whom are believed to be alive; Demilitarisation of Gaza; Israeli security control over the enclave; Establishment of an alternative civilian administration there that involves neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority, the rival, Western-backed body that exercises limited control in parts of the occupied West Bank. The Israeli military has said that it has already conquered about 75% of Gaza. The coastal strip stretching from Gaza City in the north to Khan Younis in the south is the main area outside Israeli control. Many of the two million Palestinians in Gaza, including those displaced from their homes in the territory, have squeezed into tents, makeshift shelters and apartments in those areas. Cartons of humanitarian aid are dropped by parachute from a plane flying over Gaza City today. Photo / Saher Alghorra, The New York Times Netanyahu said earlier that Israel planned to take control of all of Gaza, bucking the advice of the Israeli military and warnings that expanding operations could endanger the hostages being held there and kill more Palestinian civilians. He made the comments in an interview with Fox News before the security Cabinet meeting. They came as talks to achieve a ceasefire and the release of the hostages have hit an impasse, with Israeli and Hamas officials blaming each other for the deadlock. When asked whether Israel would take over all of Gaza, he responded: 'We intend to'. Netanyahu said the move would 'assure our security', remove Hamas from power and enable the transfer of the civilian administration of Gaza to another party. 'We want to liberate ourselves and the people of Gaza from the awful terror of Hamas,' he said in an excerpt from the interview, without providing details on any planned operation. The Prime Minister, however, suggested Israel was not interested in maintaining permanent control over the entire enclave. 'We don't want to keep it,' he added. '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 Arab forces.' In the excerpt published by Fox News, Netanyahu offered few specifics about his plan. Some analysts have said that he has threatened to widen the offensive to compel Hamas to offer concessions in the ceasefire negotiations. Hamas, in a statement today, said Netanyahu's comments 'represent a clear reversal of the course of negotiations and clearly reveal the true motives behind his withdrawal from the final round'. Israel's expansion of military action would also be in defiance of many other countries urging an end to the nearly two-year war in Gaza. In recent weeks, Israel has come under growing pressure from some long-standing allies to do more to address a hunger crisis in the enclave. The Israeli military's Chief of Staff, Lieutenant-General Eyal Zamir, has pushed back against the plan, according to four Israeli security officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive issues. He has shared concerns about the exhaustion and fitness of reservists and about the military becoming responsible for governing millions of Palestinians, they said. The military leadership would prefer a new ceasefire instead of ramping up fighting, according to three of the officials. A majority of the ministers believed that the alternative proposals put forward by the military would not result in the defeat of Hamas or the release of the hostages, according to the statement from Netanyahu's office. In earlier stages of the war, Netanyahu and the Israeli military clashed about strategy. The latest episode appeared to be the most significant showdown since the Government appointed Zamir in February. At the time, members of the governing coalition hoped that he would be more closely aligned with their approach than his predecessor. In recent days, however, he has been criticised by some supporters of the Government. The Israeli military released comments made by Zamir today in which he said 'the culture of debate' was 'a vital component of the IDF's overall culture — both internally and externally', referring to the Israel Defence Forces. 'We will continue to express our position without fear,' he added. 'That is the expectation we have of our commanders as well. The responsibility lies here, at this very table.' The military believes it could seize the remaining parts of Gaza within months, but setting up a system similar to the one it oversees in the Israeli-occupied West Bank would require up to five years of sustained combat, three of the security officials said. Earlier this week Netanyahu's office said in a statement that the Israeli military would carry out any decision made by the security cabinet. Palestinians collect humanitarian aid that was dropped by parachute from planes flying over Gaza City today. Photo / Saher Alghorra, The New York Times Members of Israel's opposition and the families of the hostages held by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza have cautioned against expanding the military operation. 'Conquering Gaza is a bad operational idea, a bad moral idea, and a bad economic idea,' Yair Lapid, the leader of the parliamentary opposition, told reporters yesterday after a meeting with Netanyahu. The families of hostages worry that extending Israeli control could lead the military to inadvertently kill their loved ones or Hamas to execute them. About 250 people were taken hostage during the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel, and more than three dozen hostages have been killed while in captivity, according to an investigation by the New York Times. Israeli authorities have said that up to 20 hostages in Gaza are believed to be alive. The bodies of 30 others, they say, are also being held in the territory. 'Hamas is a brutal terrorist organisation, and they'll kill hostages if the military comes near them,' said Elhanan Danino, whose son, Ori, was killed by his captors a year ago when Israeli soldiers were operating near a tunnel in southern Gaza in which he was being held. 'Every moment they are being held there — being starved — puts their lives at risk,' Danino added. 'I don't want to see other hostages die the same way our son did.' For Palestinian civilians, the possibility that Israel could escalate its operation has heightened fears that many more residents could be killed and that their already miserable living conditions in Gaza could become worse. 'They're talking about occupying areas that are packed with so many people,' said Mukhlis al-Masri, 34, who was forced to leave his home in northern Gaza and is now in Khan Younis. 'If they do that, there will be incalculable killing. The situation will be more dangerous than anyone can imagine.' On Monday, al-Masri said that his brother, brother-in-law and four nephews and nieces had been killed and that his sister had been seriously wounded when a school-turned-shelter was bombed in Khan Younis. He said that he was staying in a tent near Al-Nasr Hospital in the city to be near his sister, who is in the intensive care unit there. The Israeli military asked for more information about the bombing but did not provide further comment. The military has said that its strikes target militants and their weapons infrastructure in Gaza and has stressed that Hamas has embedded itself in civilian spaces. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. Written by: Adam Rasgon, Natan Odenheimer, Ronen Bergman and Isabel Kershner Photographs by: Saher Alghorra ©2025 THE NEW YORK TIMES
The Star
03-08-2025
- General
- The Star
A world of misery, from 200 miles up
Looming famine: A satellite captures an image of hundreds of starving Palestinians swarming an aid convoy in Gaza. — The New York Times EVEN from orbit, the signs of anguish and desperation were visible. Last Saturday, a satellite passing over the Gaza Strip captured an image of hundreds of people converging on a convoy of aid trucks as they threaded through mounds of rubble in the southern part of the territory. It was not the first time since the war broke out in 2023 between Israel and Hamas that trucks bearing desperately needed humanitarian supplies were besieged before they reached their destination. But Gaza is hungrier than ever now. As aid groups warn of looming famine, Palestinians have been killed trying to get food. Some have died in Israeli gunfire at the few aid sites now operating in the territory. Others were shot as they mobbed aid trucks that had just crossed the border. This month, at least 20 people were killed in a stampede at an aid site. While many Palestinians in Gaza brave the chaos in a frantic effort to feed their families, they often return home with empty hands. Some of those who do emerge victorious with, say, a bag of flour, have more mercenary motives: They take the goods to sell at markets. The prices there are often exorbitant, but many people in Gaza, too old or weak, or too afraid to risk the melees, have little choice but to pay. Little is known about the dozen or so aid trucks shown in the satellite image, which was released Monday by Planet Labs, a commercial Earth-imaging company. It remained unclear exactly what they were carrying and where they were bound before they were caught up in the crowd. Displaced Palestinians waiting in front of a charity kitchen in the western Gaza City area, July 23, 2025. Famine is unfolding across most of Gaza, a UN-backed food security group said on July 29, citing months of severe aid restrictions imposed by Israel on the territory. — Saher Alghorra/The New York Times Videos taken on the ground about the same time show large crowds of men jostling one another and milling about the trucks. Dozens of men scaled the sides of the vehicles to get at the cargo. People can be seen emerging with boxes, including one marked 'food rations.' The videos were taken about 300 metres north of the Morag Corridor, a strip created by the Israeli military that separates Khan Younis and Rafah. It was the same location as shown in the satellite image. From the air, many of the trucks are so covered with people that they are hard to make out. But even from the ground, they are barely recognisable. — ©2025 The New York Times Company
NZ Herald
08-07-2025
- Politics
- NZ Herald
Five areas of contention between Israel and Hamas amid negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza
Displaced Palestinians at a tent camp in Gaza City last month. Photo / Saher Alghorra, the New York Times Officials from Israel and Hamas were holding talks to end the war in the Gaza Strip for the second consecutive day in Doha, Qatar, as United States President Donald Trump and Arab mediators intensified their efforts to broker a ceasefire. Israel and Hamas appeared to be closer to a truce
NZ Herald
27-06-2025
- General
- NZ Herald
Lives being lost while waiting for food in the ‘hungriest place on Earth'
People wait in a long line as sacks of flour provided by the United Nations World Food Programme are distributed in Gaza City today. Photo / Saher Alghorra, the New York Times A month after the launch of a new Israeli-backed aid system for the Gaza Strip, reaching the heavily guarded distribution hubs has become a life-risking endeavour for Palestinians, hampering efforts to get enough food to a hungry population. Deadly violence has erupted frequently around the approaches to the aid sites,
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
$25 Butter and $40 Eggs: The Search for Food in Gaza
Vegetables for sale at a market in Jabaliya, northern Gaza Strip, April 23, 2025. Israel blocked food and fuel deliveries in March, and aid agencies say they are running out of supplies. Credit - Saher Alghorra—The New York Times/Redux When Reham Alkahlout, a mother of four, scours the markets in Al-Nasr, Gaza, she is gripped by a gnawing anxiety spurred by rows of scarce stalls, the acrid scent of burnt wood and plastic, and a scattering of overpriced essentials—if any are available at all. Once vibrant with produce and daily bustle, markets have been hollowed out by months of siege, bombardment, and economic collapse. Since Israeli forces resumed offensive operations on March 18, the price of flour has climbed by 5,000 percent, residents say, and cooking oil by 1,200 percent. 'No one can afford to buy,' says Alkahlout, 33, a psychological counselor working at a school housing the displaced. 'Sometimes we are forced to purchase small amounts just to feed our children.'Famine, which has loomed over the enclave for much of the 19-month war, is now imminent, according to international aid groups. The groups, led by the U.N., base their assessment on a complex formula known as the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification. The most recent report, released May 12, found the whole of Gaza qualified as an 'Emergency,' or at critical risk of famine. Some 470,000 residents (22 percent) had reached 'Catastrophe,' defined as 'starvation, death, destitution and extremely critical acute malnutrition levels.'Food prices tell the same story of scarcity. Residents of Gaza's north say a kilogram (2.2 pounds) of rice that cost $3 in February is now $10. A cucumber costs 7 times more. Baby formula has quadrupled and the price of a can of peas is up 1,000 percent. Some items, like fruit and chicken, simply cannot be obtained. Israel controls what enters the Strip, and imposed a total blockade on aid on March 2 with the collapse of a two-month ceasefire. The New York Times reported on May 13 that specialists in the Israeli military share the assessment of aid groups that starvation has become an immediate danger.' The first symptom of hunger is pain,' says Dr. John Kahler, who worked in Gaza last year as co-founder of MedGlobal, a Chicago-based NGO that provides emergency response and health programs to vulnerable communities. 'And that pain doesn't go away. It isn't like it gets better or you forget it.' Civilians interviewed by TIME from Gaza described an increasingly desperate search for basic necessities. Alwaheidi, who resides in Sheikh Redwan near Gaza City, fears the possibility that, any day now, she may be unable to provide for her children. Nineteen months of war, triggered by the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks that killed approximately 1,200 people inside Israel and took some 250 captive, has resulted in over 50,000 Palestinian deaths and the destruction of much of Gaza—including the systems that fed residents during previous wars. Community kitchens in Gaza, once a critical safety net for thousands of families, have been decimated. The communal spaces offer a hub for volunteers to prepare and distribute free meals, but only a fraction remain operational, leaving massive gaps in emergency food provision. With cooking gas prices increasing by 2,400% and flour by over 5,600%, according to residents, the facilities can no longer prepare food at scale. 'The whole concept of community kitchens that we started during the war is almost entirely going to shut down because there are no supplies anymore,' says Juliette Touma, director of communications for UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East). 'The prices of everything have increased massively.' World Central Kitchen (WCK), a nonprofit that provides meals to communities impacted by disasters and humanitarian crises, on May 7 announced it was forced to halt cooking in Gaza. 'The borders need to open for World Central Kitchen to be able to feed people in need,' said WCK Gaza response director Wadhah Hubaishi. 'If given full access to our infrastructure, partnerships, and incoming supplies, we are capable of providing hungry families in Gaza with 500,000 meals a day.' Thousands of aid trucks wait at the Gaza border, blocked by Israel, which maintains that Hamas—governing the enclave since its 2007 election win—is diverting much of the aid. 'During the war, Israel allowed humanitarian aid to flow into Gaza, and facilitated it,' said Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar in a statement. 'But Hamas stole that aid from the people and earned its money from it.' Residents say they fear looting, which tends to worsen with shortages. 'About a week ago, vegetable shops in the Al-Nasr, Al-Shati, and Sheikh Radwan areas were robbed,' says Reham Alkahlout, a mother and resident of Al-Nasr, also in Gaza's north. 'How can a family breadwinner meet the family's needs when there is no monthly income? Some people resort to theft,' she says. The Associated Press reported that both armed groups and civilians have participated in looting aid warehouses and shops in northern Gaza. Hamas has acknowledged executing individuals accused of looting and announced a 5,000-member force to combat armed criminals. UNRWA's main complex in Gaza has been targeted by looters, as have markets and community kitchens. 'We've seen individual looters. We've also seen organized crime, and we've lost quite a lot of aid that was taken by the looters,' says Touma, the spokesperson. 'At the same time, when the ceasefire started and we started seeing more aid coming in, the looting decreased significantly.' The impact of Gaza's food shortages falls with particular severity on pregnant women and children. Since the aid blockade began in March, 57 children have reportedly died from the effects of malnutrition, according to the Hamas-controlled Palestinian Health Ministry. A malnourished mother struggles to produce nutritious breast milk. Their diets are extremely limited, consisting mainly of whatever sparse rations they can obtain, often lacking the 'very, very specific protein and micronutrients and vitamins for their children to thrive,' says Kahler of MedGlobal, which has two nutrition centers still open, supplying caloric dense food to infants to mothers. 'Most of these surviving women and children haven't had a real night's sleep in over 18 months. The accumulated effects of sleep deprivation on decision making and metabolic disease are enormous.'The same reality confronts every family. 'We go to sleep every day fearing that we will lose a member of our family,' says Alwaheidi. 'And we do not know how long we will be able to provide food for our children.' Contact us at letters@
