The cabinet meeting convened by Benjamin Netanyahu to get the “green light” for full occupation of Gaza is expected to take place tomorrow, Thursday. The goal is the defeat of Hamas and the liberation of hostages. Benjamin Netanyahu emphasizes the need to complete Israel’s military objectives in the Palestinian enclave. The Israeli Prime Minister reportedly said “the die is cast – we’re moving forward for full occupation of Gaza.”
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According to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who presided over a security council meeting on Tuesday regarding the next phase of the war that is approaching 23 months, and which Israeli media report is set to begin immediately, Israel’s armed forces must “completely defeat” Hamas in the Gaza Strip. “It is essential to completely defeat the enemy in Gaza, free all our hostages, and ensure that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel. We are not abandoning any of these missions,” Netanyahu emphasized during a visit to one of his army bases.
Yesterday afternoon he presided, according to his office, over a meeting that lasted “nearly three hours,” during which “the chief of general staff presented options for continuing operations in Gaza.” The UN Security Council held a session on Tuesday dedicated to the issue of Israeli hostages in the Palestinian enclave, at Israel’s initiative, which wants to place it at the “center” of the international agenda.
Trump: “Horrible” the video showing emaciated Israeli hostage
When asked about it, US President Donald Trump called “horrible” the video showing an emaciated Israeli hostage, which was released last week by Hamas. Meanwhile, he refused to answer whether he supports or opposes the idea of imposing Israeli occupation over the entire Gaza Strip, something that the Prime Minister of the US’s main Middle East ally reportedly favors. The Israeli press, citing officials who spoke on condition of anonymity, reported that an immediate new escalation of operations in the besieged coastal Palestinian enclave is imminent. “Netanyahu wants the Israeli army to take control of the entire Gaza Strip,” summarized public radio Kan.
The army will “begin battles in zones” it avoided engaging in recent months
Ministers in his government “confirmed that he has decided to expand battles to areas where hostages may be held,” the same outlet added. According to the Maariv newspaper, “this dramatic decision” means the army will “begin battles in zones” it avoided engaging in recent months, in sectors where hostages may be held, in displacement camps, in areas with large concentrations of civilians. Media outlets reported possible opposition from the chief of general staff, Brigadier General Eyal Zamir. The Israeli army “is ready to carry out any decision made” by the government, the Prime Minister’s office countered after yesterday’s meeting.
At war against Hamas following the unprecedented raid by the military wing of the Palestinian Islamist movement in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, the Israeli government faces increasing international pressure to end hostilities. Much of Israeli public opinion is increasingly concerned about the fate of the 49 hostages remaining in the Gaza Strip, 27 of whom have been declared dead by the army, while internationally voices multiply pointing to the suffering of the more than two million Palestinians in the enclave who are threatened with “generalized famine,” as the UN warns.
“The ball is in the court of the occupation (Israel) and the Americans,” commented a Hamas leadership figure, Husam Badran, speaking to the French Press Agency, expressing the movement’s desire “to stop the war to end the famine.” “Mediators are still in contact with us, but so far there is no (…) development regarding the resumption of negotiations,” he added after the failure of the previous round of indirect negotiations in July. The International Committee of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (ICRC) assured yesterday that it is ready to guarantee delivery to hostages of “food, medicine, and news from their families” and reminded that it continues “permanent dialogue with all parties” but “does not participate in negotiations.”
On the ground, civil protection reported 68 dead in Israeli attacks yesterday, 56 of whom were waiting for food distributions, mainly in Khan Younis (south) and Zikim (north), from where aid enters after approval by Israeli authorities. The Israeli armed forces announced there were “warning” shots in the southern Gaza Strip, adding that it is still verifying information about Zikim.
Yesterday morning COGAT, an Israeli army body responsible for civilian affairs in Gaza, gave permission for goods to enter through traders in a “controlled and progressive” manner to “increase” aid while simultaneously reducing “dependence” on the UN and international organizations. “Approved goods include basic food products, baby food, fruits and vegetables, and hygiene items,” which will be “strictly controlled” according to the same source. Israel partially relaxed at the end of May the complete ban on humanitarian aid passage it imposed in early March in the Gaza Strip, where the population depends entirely on it. However, the quantities allowed to enter the enclave, through land routes or airdrops, are completely insufficient to meet the enormous needs, the United Nations emphasizes. UN experts also called yesterday for immediate dissolution of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a nonprofit organization supported by Israel and the US, which began distributing aid in May.
Its activity constitutes a “particularly troubling example” of how “humanitarian aid can be exploited for covert military and geopolitical purposes,” which is a “flagrant violation of international law,” the experts explained, noting the involvement of “Israeli intelligence services, American businessmen, and controversial non-governmental entities.”
