Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu has said Israel “has no choice but to finish the job and complete the defeat of Hamas”, given the group’s refusal to lay down its arms.
He was speaking to foreign media in Jerusalem and defending a planned military offensive.
He asserted that “our goal is not to occupy Gaza, our goal is to free Gaza”.
Mr Netanyahu is also pushing back against what he calls a “global campaign of lies” as condemnation of the plan grows both inside and outside Israel.
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He said there is a “fairly short timetable” in mind for next steps in Gaza.
The goals there, he said, include demilitarising Gaza, the Israeli military having “overriding security control” there and a non-Israeli civilian administration in charge.
The prime minister also said he had directed Israel’s military in recent days to “bring in more foreign journalists” – which would be a striking development as they have not been allowed into Gaza beyond military embeds.
Mr Netanyahu again blamed many of Gaza’s problems on the Hamas militant group, including civilian deaths, destruction and shortages of aid.
He said Israel was working to increase aid distribution in a “humanitarian surge” being co-ordinated with Washington while its forces were preparing to move on Gaza City.
“The timeline that we set for the action is fairly quickly. We want, first of all, to enable safe zones to be established so the civilian population of Gaza City can move out,” he added.
“I don’t want to talk about exact timetables, but we are talking in terms of a fairly short timetable, because we want to bring the war to an end. This is how we bring the war to an end.”
Earlier on Sunday, the Israeli military said that two projectiles were “likely” launched from Gaza and crossed into Israel.
Interception attempts were made, but the results of the interception are under review, the military said.
On Saturday night, thousands of protesters took to the streets of Tel Aviv in Israel to oppose prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s plan to escalate the nearly two-year Gaza war, demanding an immediate end to the campaign and for the release of the hostages.
A day earlier, the prime minister’s office said the security cabinet, a small group of senior ministers, had decided to seize Gaza City, expanding military operations in the devastated Palestinian territory despite widespread public opposition and warnings from the military the move could endanger the hostages.
“This isn’t just a military decision. It could be a death sentence for the people we love most,” Lishay Miran Lavi, the wife of hostage Omri Miran told the rally, pleading to US president Donald Trump to intervene to immediately end the war.
Public opinion polls show an overwhelming majority of Israelis favour an immediate end to the war to secure the release of the remaining 50 hostages held by militants in Gaza. Israeli officials believe about 20 hostages are still alive.
The Israeli government has faced sharp criticism at home and abroad, including from some of its closest European allies, over the announcement that the military would expand the war. The full cabinet is expected to give its approval as soon as Sunday.
Most of the hostages who have been freed so far emerged as a result of diplomatic negotiations. Talks toward a ceasefire that could have seen more hostages released collapsed in July.
“They (the government) are fanatic. They are doing things against the interests of the country,” said Rami Dar, 69-year-old retiree, who travelled from a nearby suburb outside of Tel Aviv, echoing calls for Trump to force a deal for the hostages.
Tel Aviv has seen frequent rallies urging the government to reach a ceasefire and hostage deal with Hamas, who ignited the war with their October 2023 attack. Saturday’s demonstration attracted over 100,000 protesters, according to organisers.
“Frankly, I’m not an expert or anything, but I feel that after two years of fighting there has been no success,” said Yana, (45), who attended the rally with her husband and two children. “I wonder whether additional lives for both sides, not just the Israelis but also Gazans, will make any difference.”
Around 1,200, mostly Israelis, were killed and 251 were taken into Gaza during Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7th, 2023. More than 400 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza since then.
Protesters waved Israeli flags and carried placards bearing the images of hostages. Others held signs directing anger at the government or urging Mr Trump to take action to stop Mr Netanyahu from moving forward with plans to escalate the war. A small number of protesters held images of Gazan children killed by the military.
Israel’s military has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians in the war, according to the Gazan health ministry, which said on Saturday that at least 39 had been killed in the past day.
Some of the prime minister’s far-right coalition allies have been pushing for a total takeover of Gaza. The military has warned this could endanger the lives of the hostages in Gaza.
Far-right minister Bezalel Smotrich, a proponent of continuing the war, issued a statement on Saturday criticising Mr Netanyahu and called for the annexation of large parts of Gaza.
Mr Netanyahu told Fox News in an interview that aired on Thursday that the military intended to take control of all of Gaza but that Israel did not want to keep the territory.
The announcement from the prime minister’s office early on Friday said the military would take Gaza City, but did not explicitly say if Israeli forces would take all of the enclave.
Tal, a 55-year-old high school teacher, told Reuters at the rally in Tel Aviv that expanding the war was “terrible,” warning it would result in the deaths of both soldiers and hostages and insisting that the war should end with the military withdrawing.
“We don’t have anything to do there. It’s not ours.”- Reuters
