Photo by Avi Ohayon, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Friday morning that the Israeli Security Cabinet has approved a plan to take control of Gaza City. This announcement marks an escalation in the conflict between Israeli forces and the Hamas terrorist group, which currently controls the region.
The conflict between Israel and Hamas has continued to cause destruction, poverty, and death in the Gaza Strip over the past few years. Since the attack on the Israeli people in 2023, violence in the region has become a focus of international attention.
Netanyahu's Plans for Gaza
In an official statementThe Prime Minister's office outlined the five principles the Security Cabinet will implement for its occupation of Gaza City. These include: "the disarmament of Hamas, the return of all hostages, both living and dead, the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip, Israeli security control over the Gaza Strip, and the establishment of an alternative civilian government in Gaza that is not headed by Hamas or the Palestinian Authority."
This announcement confirms the intentions that Netanyahu announced in his interview with Fox News This Thursday, he explained that Israel's mission is to "liberate" the Palestinian people, but not to govern them. Responding to the question of whether Israel will assume full control over Gaza, the prime minister said:
“We intend, to guarantee our security, to eliminate Hamas there, allow the population of Gaza to be free, and transfer it to a civilian government that is not Hamas or anyone who promotes the destruction of Israel. We don't want to keep Gaza. We want to have a security perimeter. We don't want to govern it. We don't want to be there as the governing authority. We want to hand it over to Arab forces that will administer it properly, without threatening us, and that will give Gazans a good life.”
The invasion of Gaza City would imply an increase in Israeli military operations in the region. This has drawn criticism from various international officials.
International Reviews to Israel's Decision
The United Nations Human Rights Chief, Völker Turk, criticized the Israeli government's decision in an official statement today:
“The Israeli government's plan for a complete military takeover of the occupied Gaza Strip must be halted immediately. Based on all evidence to date, this further escalation will lead to further mass forced displacement, more deaths, more unbearable suffering, senseless destruction, and atrocious crimes.”
The Chancellor of Germany, Friedrich Merz, advertisement The German government will pause its arms shipments to the Israeli government as a result of this decision. While the German government recognizes the importance of defeating Hamas and rescuing the hostages in the region, "The German government believes that the even tougher military action in the Gaza Strip, decided last night by the Israeli cabinet, makes it increasingly difficult to see how these goals can be achieved."
Keir Starmer, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, also criticized the Israeli decision with an official statement. Starmer argues that this plan:
“…it does nothing to end this conflict or help secure the release of the hostages. It will only lead to more bloodshed.”
The White House has yet to respond to Netanyahu's announcement.
For more stories like this, follow More Latin.
Sources:
English 
Spanish 