Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Aug. 10 defended his nation’s planned military incursion into the Gaza Strip, and said Israel “has no choice but to finish the job and complete the defeat of Hamas.”
On Friday, the Israeli Security Cabinet said it had approved a plan to establish full military control of Gaza City.
While speaking with foreign media at a press conference in Jerusalem on Sunday, Netanyahu explained the goals of his upcoming military offensive in Gaza and said he is pushing back against a “global campaign of lies” as scrutiny mounts over humanitarian conditions in the enclave.
“Our goal is not to occupy Gaza. Our goal is to free Gaza, free it from Hamas terrorists,” Netanyahu said.
“A security zone will be established on Gaza’s border with Israel to prevent future terrorist incursions. A civilian administration will be established in Gaza that will seek to live in peace with Israel. That’s our plan for the day after Hamas.”
The prime minister said there is a “fairly short timetable” for what comes next in Gaza, and listed his five conditions for ending the war.
Netanyahu said that Hamas must be disarmed, all hostages freed, Gaza demilitarized completely, with the Israeli military retaining “overriding security control” of the territory and a non-Israeli civilian administration that is neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority taking control of Gaza.
“By that, I mean a civilian administration that doesn’t educate its children for terror, doesn’t pay terrorists, and doesn’t launch terrorist attacks against Israel. That’s what we want to see in Gaza,” Netanyahu said. “So it’s neither Hamas nor the [Palestinian Authority]. That’s our plan. Given Hamas’s refusal to lay down its arms, Israel has no choice but to finish the job and complete the defeat of Hamas.”
The prime minister blamed Hamas for many of Gaza’s problems, including civilian deaths, infrastructure destruction, and the failure of aid to reach those in need.
Many outside groups, including foreign leaders and humanitarian organizations, have raised concerns over growing famine in the Gaza Strip.
Netanyahu said he was looking into the possibility of his government suing The New York Times after the paper recently used a photo of a Palestinian boy suffering from cerebral palsy on its cover and suggested his frailty was due to starvation in the Gaza Strip instead of from his medical condition. The paper ultimately issued a correction on the story.
The prime minister said his short timetable on the military incursion is due to wanting to “bring the war to an end” quickly, which involves talking to the United States “about additional measures.”
“But we haven’t waited, because what we’re doing, as I said, is [to] designate safe corridors, expand the [Gaza Health Ministry] distribution points, and they’re trying to bring in more resources,” he said, adding that Israel is planning to increase air drops of aid.
“The most important thing is ground routes that bring aid, a surge of aid to the Palestinian population, as far as we can without letting Hamas loot it,” he said.
After facing scrutiny for not allowing more foreign journalists into Gaza, Netanyahu said his office has directed the Israeli military to allow more reporters inside the enclave.
“There’s a problem of assuring security, but I think it can be done in a way that is responsible and careful to preserve your own safety,” he said.
Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong told The Epoch Times on Saturday that Netanyahu should abandon his plan to fully occupy Gaza City.
“Australia calls on Israel to not go down this path, which will only worsen the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza,” Wong said, adding that a forced displacement of the population would run afoul of international law.
“With international partners, Australia maintains our call for a cease-fire, the return of hostages, and aid to flow unimpeded. A two-state solution is the only pathway to secure an enduring peace—a Palestinian state and the State of Israel, living side-by-side in peace and security within internationally recognized borders,” she added.
Evgenia Filimianova, Ryan Morgan, Naziya Alvi Rahman, and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
