Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has justified his plans to proceed with the takeover of Gaza City, dismissing increasing criticism from the international community and within Israel.
The news was released as senior officials of the United Nations warned that the action would precipitate "another calamity" in a region already suffering what they called "starvation, pure and simple."
Speaking to foreign reporters in a highly unusual press conference in Jerusalem, Netanyahu contended that the plan—endorsed last week by Israel's security cabinet over intense domestic and international opposition—was "the best manner of terminating the war and the best way to terminate it quickly."
Nonetheless, at the weekend's emergency UN Security Council meeting in New York, constant warnings were sounded that instead of ending the 22-month-long war, the proposal could escalate Gaza's humanitarian crisis.
"If implemented, these plans would be likely to unleash another disaster in Gaza with implications throughout the region and leading to further forced displacement, killings, and destruction," UN assistant secretary general Miroslav Jenca warned the session.
Five more individuals, including two children, died from malnutrition in recent times, says Gaza's health ministry. This takes the number of child starvation deaths to 100, while the total number of deaths, including adults, has risen to 217.
Ramesh Rajasingham, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) coordination director, informed the council: "This is no longer a looming hunger crisis – this is starvation, pure and simple."
While Israel maintains a blockade and strict controls on aid coming into Gaza, Netanyahu dismissed allegations that his administration was pursuing a "starvation policy," describing the allegations as "absolutely false." He did admit that people were hungry and conceded that the US- and Israeli-supported Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) had made mistakes in distributing food, but charged that the media was peddling "lies" about the scope of the problem.
Hours prior to Netanyahu's statements, Gaza hospitals and witnesses said at least 26 Palestinians were killed in an attempt to access aid. Fifteen were killed near the recently built Morag corridor between Rafah and Khan Younis, Nasser Hospital said. Six were killed in north Gaza near the Zikim crossing, Gaza's health ministry and Shifa Hospital in Gaza City said.
The UN reports that over 1,370 Palestinians have been murdered since 27 May while trying to acquire food. Netanyahu refused to take responsibility for these casualties, instead accusing—without providing evidence—"a lot of the firing" being carried out by Hamas. The Israeli military has repeatedly accused Hamas of diverting aid, although the European Commission reports that it has been unable to uncover any evidence to substantiate this allegation.
Since the Hamas attacks on 7 October 2023—which killed about 1,200 people, mostly Israeli civilians, and saw more than 250 taken hostage—international journalists have been barred from freely entering Gaza, except for tightly controlled, brief visits alongside Israeli soldiers.
Remaining hostages' families have also criticized Netanyahu's Gaza City plan, adding tens of thousands of protesters to a march to Israel's military headquarters in Tel Aviv on Saturday. The move has strained relations between the prime minister and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) commanders, although it has received no resistance from the Trump administration in Washington, Israel's most important ally.
Netanyahu explained to reporters that Gaza City and the surrounding areas remain two principal Hamas strongholds. "We have roughly 70 to 75% of Gaza under Israeli military control. But we have two remaining redoubts. These are Gaza City and the central camps in Al Mawasi," he explained.
"Since Hamas has refused to put down its arms, Israel has no other option but to complete the mission and complete the defeat of Hamas," Netanyahu went on, saying he expected the operation to be launched "fairly quickly." Hamas said it will not disarm except for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.
The Israeli leader dismissed what he described as a “global campaign of lies,” declaring: “We will win the war, with or without the support of others.”
Britain, though a close friend to Israel, was among the countries that pressed for the emergency UN session and warned that the proposal would further aggravate the situation. "It will deepen only the suffering of Palestinian civilians in Gaza. It's not a path towards a solution. It is a path towards more bloodshed," stated UK deputy ambassador to the UN, James Kariuki.
Algerian envoy Amar Bendjama called for sanctions against Israel as "the enemy of humanity." Palestinian representative Riyad Mansour also chimed in, saying to the council: "If it was another state, you would have imposed sanctions a long time ago.
The US, though, came to the defense of Israel. "Israel has a right to determine what it needs for its security and what actions are appropriate to stop the Hamas threat," US diplomat to the UN, Dorothy Shea, said, accusing other nations of "actively continuing the war by spreading falsehoods about Israel.
At least 61,000 Palestinians, the majority of whom were civilians, have been killed in the Israeli military campaign, Gaza's health ministry said. The number does not include thousands thought to be under the rubble or those who died indirectly from the war.
Israel's deputy ambassador to the UN, Jonathan Miller, said in the meeting: "Pressure should not be put on Israel, who underwent the worst attack against the Jewish community since the Holocaust, but on Hamas.
Read also| Putin-Trump Meeting Set for August 15 in Alaska
