Image source, Getty Images
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- Author, Writing
- Author's title, BBC News World
The Israel government security cabinet approved a plan to militarily occupy the city of Gaza, and with it, the entire territory of the Strip.
In a statement published Friday by the Office of the Prime Minister, the Government of Israel announced that “the Israel Defense Forces (FDI) will prepare to take control of the city of Gaza while providing humanitarian aid to the civilian population outside the combat areas.”
According to the statement, Israel will follow certain “principles” with which the conflict is sought:
- The disarmament of Hamas.
- The return of all hostages, both alive and dead.
- The demilitarization of the Gaza Strip.
- Israeli security control over the Gaza Strip.
- The existence of an alternative civil government that does not lead it to Hamas or the Palestinian authority.
The decision was achieved after hours of discussion of the Israeli security cabinet and confirms what Benjamin Netanyahu announced in an interview granted to Fox News.
The rumors that this announcement was going to be given launched hundreds of people to the streets on Thursday night to protest against the plan, considering that the life of hostages that still remain in the hands of Hamas is put at risk.
This week videos were leaked in which two of the Israeli hostages were seen under deplorable conditions of starvation.
A risky and controversial operation
Image source, Getty Images
It is believed that the plan to completely occupy Gaza, whose objective would be to destroy Hamas, would force a million residents of the Strip to move further south.
Israel, who controls around 75% of the territory, has not operated in the city of Gaza or in the camps in the center of the strip, where around one million Palestinians live.
The army has warned that an expansion of the offensive to achieve total gaza control would endanger the 20 Israeli hostages that are believed to remain alive and are retained in those areas, in addition to putting the soldiers at risk.
Image source, Getty Images
The families of the hostages share these concerns and believe that the only way to guarantee their release is through a negotiated agreement.
Family groups demonstrated in front of the office of the Prime Minister of Israel in Jerusalem to protest against the decision of Netyahu, which they consider “a death sentence and the immediate disappearance of our loved ones.”
The newspaper Ma'ariv Thursday reported that the “predominant estimate is that most living hostages, and possibly all, will die” if the offensive is extended, either at the hands of their captors or accidentally by the fire of Israeli soldiers.
Other Israeli media affirm that the IDF will perform maneuvers in areas where they are believed to find the hostages, as well as in regions of the center of Gaza that have so far avoided largely during the conflict.
Hamas responded to Netanyahu's announcement with a statement in which he accuses the Israeli prime minister to want to “continue his genocide and displacement policy committing more crimes” against the Palestinian people.
The Palestinian armed group said that the announcement of a total occupation “represents a clear reverse in the course of negotiations and clearly reveals the true reasons behind their retirement from the final round.”
He claimed that, if he carried out his plans, “the price will be high” since Netanyahu would be willing to “sacrifice” the Israeli hostages who remain in Gaza.
Military expansion probably receives criticism inside and outside the country
Correspondent in the Middle East, from Jerusalem
Surveys suggest that the vast majority of Israeli public opinion prefers an agreement with Hamas for the liberation of hostages and the end of the war.
Israeli leaders claim that, at this time, Hamas is not interested in negotiating since, in their opinion, the group is grown by international pressure on Israel due to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
The threat of a total occupation could be part of a strategy to try to force the group to make concessions in the stagnant negotiations.
But many believe that Netanyahu is prolonging the conflict to guarantee the survival of his coalition, whose continuity depends on the support of ultra -nationalist ministers who have threatened to leave the government if an agreement with Hamas is reached.
Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich have publicly defended the expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza-which could be equivalent to a forced displacement of civilians, a war crime-and the repopulation of this territory with Jews.
It is not clear if the total occupation would mean a short -term operation or a long -term control outlet.
In any case, any expansion of Israel's operations in Gaza probably receives strong international criticism and isolates the country even more.
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