Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has defended his plan to take control of Gaza City, despite widespread international condemnation and warnings from senior UN officials that the move risks unleashing “another calamity” on the territory. In a rare press conference with foreign journalists in Jerusalem, Netanyahu said the plan, signed off last week by the security cabinet, was “the best way to end the war and the best way to end it speedily”.
However, UN officials have warned that the move would exacerbate an already dire humanitarian situation. “If these plans are implemented, they will likely trigger another calamity in Gaza, reverberating across the region and causing further forced displacement, killings, and destruction,” said UN Assistant Secretary General Miroslav Jenca. Ramesh Rajasingham, OCHA’s coordination director, told the Security Council meeting, “This is no longer a looming hunger crisis – this is starvation, pure and simple”.
The situation in Gaza is dire, with at least 26 Palestinians killed while seeking aid on Sunday, according to hospitals and witnesses. The UN has reported that more than 1,370 Palestinians have been killed since May 27 while seeking food. Gaza’s health ministry has also reported that five more people, including two children, have died of malnutrition-related causes, bringing the number of children who have died from such causes to 100. The total death toll from malnutrition stands at 217, the ministry says.
The plan has been widely condemned by the international community, with Britain warning that it risks prolonging the conflict. “It will only deepen the suffering of Palestinian civilians in Gaza. This is not a path to resolution. It is a path to more bloodshed,” said British Deputy Ambassador to the UN James Kariuki. The US, however, has offered support for Israel, accusing those nations who supported Sunday’s meeting of “actively prolonging the war by spreading lies about Israel”.
Netanyahu has pushed back against what he calls a “global campaign of lies”. “We will win the war, with or without the support of others,” he added. He claimed that Israel was not pursuing a “starvation policy” and acknowledged hunger and problems with the food distribution system, but accused the media of “lies” about the scale of the problem.
The Israeli military has repeatedly claimed that Hamas is stealing aid, despite the European Commission finding no reports of this. Netanyahu said that “a lot of the firing was done by Hamas” when asked about the killings of Palestinians seeking aid, but provided no evidence.
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