Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, Aug. 10 defended his plan to take over Gaza, despite growing international opposition to a military offensive as well as protests in his own country. Speaking to the media before a United Nations Security Council meeting on the Middle East, Netanyahu said Israel has “no choice” but to “finish the job” and “defeat” Hamas.
Israel’s aims, he said per the BBC, are: the disarmament of Hamas; the return of all hostages taken on Oct. 7, 2023; the demilitarization of Gaza, Israel taking “overriding security control” of the Strip and putting an “alternative civil administration” in place.
During the United Nations Security Council’s meeting, Palestinian Ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour said Israel is prolonging the war with the aim of preventing independent Palestinian statehood, and not disarming Hamas, as Netanyahu claimed. Mansour said the Security Council needs “to act now to stop this genocide.”
James Kariuki, the deputy representative of the United Kingdom, said the Israeli government needs to reconsider military operations in Gaza.
“This is not a path to resolution,” Kariuki said. “It is a path to more bloodshed.”
In addition, Kariuki said, family members of hostages have also urged against military action in Gaza, as it could risk “further endangering their lives.”
Ramesh Rajasingham, head of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Geneva, said he is concerned over the human toll that would unfold if military operations in Gaza are expanded.
“This marks a grave escalation in a conflict that has already inflicted unimaginable suffering,” he said.
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Since Oct. 7, 2023, Israel’s current offensive displaced most Palestinians in Gaza, and organizations warn that restrictions on aid are causing mass starvation. More than 61,400 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces. Another 100 children and 117 adults have died of malnutrition-related causes since June, the Associated Press reported.
When asked by the press about whether Israel’s 11-week blockade on aid into Gaza caused the area’s hunger crisis, Netanyahu on Sunday, Aug. 10, denied that Israel has a “starvation policy,” and said Hamas was looting supplies. An internal review from the United States Agency for International Development first reported on by Reuters did not find any evidence of widespread theft of U.S.-funded aid in Gaza.
Netanyahu said he had a plan to get more aid to Gaza, including more Gaza Humanitarian Foundation distribution sites. However,the United States and Israel-backed foundation has been criticized over the number of deaths reported at its aid sites. Almost 1,400 have been killed while trying to get food, the UN recently said.
Witnesses told the AP, on Sunday, Aug. 10, at least 31 Palestinians were killed while attempting to secure aid. Witnesses in the Morag and Netzarim corridors also reported Israeli troops fired at crowds of people.
The GHF and Israel’s military denied these incidents to the AP.
In addition, hospitals report seven people were killed in airstrikes.
