Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that Israel intends to take control of the entire Gaza Strip, but does not want to govern it. In an interview with Fox News, Netanyahu said, “We intend to [take over] in order to ensure our security, remove Hamas [from] there … and to pass it to civilian governance that is not Hamas and not anyone advocating the destruction of Israel.” He emphasized that Israel wants a security perimeter and plans to hand Gaza over to Arab forces to govern the territory, stating, “We don’t want to keep it. We want to have a security perimeter. We don’t want to govern it. We don’t want to be there as a governing body”.
Netanyahu’s comments came ahead of a key security cabinet meeting to discuss plans for the military to take control of Gaza, despite mounting global outrage over the grim humanitarian situation in the territory. The Israeli security cabinet meeting comes as international pressure on Israel ratchets up, with United Nations agencies warning of famine in the devastated territory. Gaza’s hospitals have recorded four new deaths “due to famine and malnutrition over the past 24 hours”, raising the total number of hunger-related deaths to 197, including 96 children, since Israel’s war on Gaza began.
The humanitarian situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate, with aid agencies and governments condemning Israel’s obstruction of life-saving humanitarian supplies. The World Health Organization has warned of famine in the territory, and the United Nations estimates that nearly 1,400 Palestinians have died since May while attempting to access aid. Many of these deaths have occurred near distribution sites operated by an American contractor with Israeli backing.
Gideon Levy, an Israeli journalist at Haaretz, has questioned the feasibility of Netanyahu’s plan, saying, “What does he mean, another force will take over Gaza? Who is going to get into Gaza, who will be willing to do so, except for the Israeli military, obviously?” Levy believes the real goal of such a move is “aiming at an ethnic cleansing of Gaza,” stating, “There is a goal for this war … to push all the people of Gaza to this ‘humanitarian’ concentration camp and then offer them to leave Gaza”.
There are also divisions within Israel over the plan, with some military chiefs and former commanders warning that a full-scale occupation would endanger the lives of remaining Israeli hostages held by Hamas and risk further international isolation of Israel. Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, Israel’s military chief, has underscored his independence, promising to “continue to express our position without fear” and stating, “We are not dealing with theory – we are dealing with matters of life and death, with the defence of the state, and we do so while looking directly into the eyes of our soldiers and citizens”.