Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel plans to occupy “all of Gaza”, despite warnings that such a move would lead to further Palestinian deaths and endanger Israeli hostages still held in the territory.
Speaking to Fox News ahead of a security cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said Israel doesn’t want to govern the Gaza strip, but he intends to hand it to ‘Arab forces’ to govern.
“We don’t want to keep it. We want to have a security perimeter,” Netanyahu said about the Palestinian territory. “We want to hand it over to Arab forces that will govern it properly without threatening us and giving Gazans a good life.”
The security cabinet would need to approve such a decision, with two government sources telling Reuters the full cabinet may not meet until Sunday.
Hamas has called Netanyahu’s proposal a “blatant coup” against the ceasefire negotiation process.
“Netanyahu’s plans to escalate the aggression confirm beyond any doubt his desire to get rid of the captives and sacrifice them in pursuit of his personal interests and extremist ideological agenda,” Hamas said in a statement.
Netanyahu – who still faces an arrrest warrant from the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity and war crimes – is under intense international pressure to reach a ceasefire agreement, as Israel’s actions in Gaza have killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, displaced most of the population, destroyed vast areas and caused a famine.
Human rights groups fear that an Israeli takeover of Gaza will open the door for Israeli resettlement in the occupied territory. International laws state this is illegal – a military occupier cannot transfer its civilians into the occupied territory.
Netanyahu’s plan would mean sending ground troops into the few areas of the Gaza strip that have not been totally destroyed, where many of its 2 million people have sought refuge.
Australia is “strongly opposed” to Israel’s plan for full occupation of Gaza, with Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt saying the government is “calling on the parties to reach an immediate ceasefire” as well as removal of “impediments to aid into Gaza” and “the hostages being released”.
The forced starvation of Palestinians by Israel is an ongoing crisis in Gaza, with health clinics treating hundreds of malnourished people, particularly women and children.
“When you starve women who are pregnant and breastfeeding, they are unable to feed their children,” the executive director of Médecins sans frontières in Australia, Jennifer Tierney told ABC about the crisis.
“We’re seeing children who are being deprived of the development that they need, we’re seeing young children who should be the size of a seven-year-old who are the size of a five-year-old at this point,” Tierney said, adding that the clinics are also seeing children lack the nutrients they need to support their mental development.
“It’s a tragedy that’s going to carry on for decades to come.”
Meanwhile hundreds of protesters in Jerusalem have blocked the streets, demanding an end to the war and the return of the hostages.
Families of the hostages have said they fear their loved ones will be killed- either by Hamas or by the military- if the IDF moves into Gaza City and its surroundings. They’ve urged the government to reach a hostage-release and ceasefire deal instead.
The Hostages Families Forum Headquarters released a statement saying: “We appeal to the Cabinet — escalating the fighting is a death sentence and immediate disappearance for our loved ones — look us in the eyes when you choose to sacrifice them.”