NETANYAHU’s MARCH ON GAZA. The Israeli Security Council approves the all-out invasion. China slams Israel’s plan for Gaza occupation
By Gospa News Editorial Staff
Israel’s Security Cabinet has approved a plan to take over Gaza City, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said. The decision taken early Friday marks another escalation of Israel’s 22-month offensive launched in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack.
The war has already killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, destroyed much of Gaza and pushed the territory of some 2 million Palestinians toward famine.
Ahead of the Security Cabinet meeting, which began Thursday and ran through the night, Netanyahu said Israel planned to retake control over the entire territory and eventually hand it off to friendly Arab forces opposed to Hamas.
Satellite images show the Israeli military building up troops and equipment near the border with Gaza
«Commercial satellite images show the Israeli military building up troops and equipment near the border with Gaza that would support a possible new ground invasion of the Palestinian enclave, according to three U.S. officials and a former official who viewed the imagery» NBC News has reported a few hours ago.
The troop buildup comes during a tense time in relations between the U.S. and Israel. Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Donald Trump had a private phone conversation that devolved into shouting amid White House concerns about how the Gaza Humanitarian Fund, a U.S.- and Israel-backed relief effort, is working, sources said.
The announced plans stop short of that, perhaps reflecting the reservations of Israel’s top general, who reportedly warned that it would endanger the remaining 20 or so living hostages held by Hamas and further strain Israel’s army after nearly two years of regional wars. Many families of hostages are also opposed, fearing further escalation will doom their loved ones.
Israel has repeatedly bombarded Gaza City and carried out numerous raids there, only to return to different neighborhoods again and again as militants regrouped. Today it is one of the few areas of Gaza that hasn’t been turned into an Israeli buffer zone or placed under evacuation orders.
A major ground operation there could displace tens of thousands of people and further disrupt efforts to deliver food to the territory.
It’s unclear how many people reside in the city, which was Gaza’s largest before the war. Hundreds of thousands fled Gaza City under evacuation orders in the opening weeks of the war but many returned during a ceasefire at the start of this year.
Expanding war risks countless lives and could further isolate Israel
Expanding military operations in Gaza would put the lives of countless Palestinians and the roughly 20 remaining Israeli hostages at risk while further isolating Israel internationally. Israel already controls around three quarters of the devastated territory.
Families of hostages held in Gaza fear an escalation could doom their loved ones, and some protested outside the Security Cabinet meeting in Jerusalem. Former top Israeli security officials have also come out against the plan, warning of a quagmire with little added military benefit.
An Israeli official had earlier said the Security Cabinet would discuss plans to conquer all or parts of Gaza not yet under Israeli control. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity pending a formal decision, said that whatever is approved would be implemented gradually to increase pressure on Hamas.
Israel’s air and ground war has killed tens of thousands of people in Gaza, displaced most of the population, destroyed vast areas and caused severe and widespread hunger. Palestinians are braced for further misery.
“There is nothing left to occupy,” said Maysaa al-Heila, who is living in a displacement camp. “There is no Gaza left.”
At least 42 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes and shootings across southern Gaza on Thursday, according to local hospitals.
‘We don’t want to keep it’
Asked in an interview with Fox News ahead of the Security Cabinet meeting if Israel would “take control of all of Gaza,” Netanyahu replied: “We intend to, in order to assure our security, remove Hamas there, enable the population to be free of Gaza.”
“We don’t want to keep it. We want to have a security perimeter,” Netanyahu said in the interview. “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, which would need to approve such a decision, began meeting Thursday evening, according to Israeli media, and it was expected to stretch into the night.
Israel’s military chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, warned against occupying Gaza, saying it would endanger the hostages and put further strain on the military after nearly two years of war, according to Israeli media reports.
China slams Israel’s plan for Gaza occupation
China has condemned Israel’s plan to place Gaza City under military control, calling it an “integral part of the Palestinian territory.”
In a Friday statement, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian urged Israel “to stop the dangerous move at once.” “Gaza belongs to the Palestinian people,” Lin said, while calling for an immediate ceasefire.
In an interview with Fox News on Thursday, Netanyahu claimed, “We don’t want to be [in Gaza] as a governing body, we want to hand it over to Arab forces that will govern it properly.”
Late last month, China’s Special Envoy on the Middle East, Zhai Jun, said any effort to forcibly change Gaza’s status “will not bring peace,” while reaffirming Beijing’s support for a two-state solution.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has also criticized Israel’s decision, as has France and the UK.
The war between Hamas and Israel began in October of 2023 following a surprise attack by Hamas in southern Israel that left 1,200 people dead, with 250 hostages taken. Since then, more than 60,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed by Israeli forces, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry.
UN spokesperson Olga Cherevko told RT earlier this month that “a catastrophe of unthinkable proportions has developed and is developing even further” in Gaza, while accusing Israeli forces of blocking food deliveries to civilians.
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