LATEST: Arab nations heap criticism on Netanyahu for 'new stage of genocide'
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israel has no choice but to “complete the job” and defeat Hamas and that the new offensive planned in Gaza aims to eliminate the two remaining strongholds of the Islamist movement.
Israel’s security cabinet on Friday approved a plan to seize control of Gaza city, escalating military operations in the devastated Palestinian territory.
The move drew renewed criticism at home and abroad, as concerns mounted over the nearly two-year-old war.
“This is the best way to end the war and the best way to end it speedily,” Mr Netanyahu told journalists. He added that “our goal is not to occupy Gaza, our goal is to free Gaza”.
“Israel has no choice but to complete the mission and eliminate Hamas in light of the movement's refusal to lay down its arms,” he said.
The goal, he added is to disarm Hamas and “establish a non-Israeli civil administration in Gaza, not led by Hamas or the Palestinian Authority.
“We do not want to see Hamas or the Palestinian Authority in Gaza, but rather a peaceful civil administration.”
The Israeli leader, who has been facing mounting pressure at home and abroad, said that the new operation set to be launched by the military in Gaza city will be on a “fairly short timetable”.
“I don't want to talk about exact timetables, but we're talking in terms of a fairly short timetable because we want to bring the war to an end,” the prime minister said.
He hit back at the wave of criticism of the new plans, saying the country was prepared to fight without the support of others.
“We will win the war, with or without the support of others,” said the Prime Minister.
A top UN official said on Sunday that Israel's plans for the next military phase in Gaza will “trigger another calamity” in the enclave.
If Israel's plans are implemented, the effects will reverberate “across the region, causing further force displacement, killings and destruction, compounding the unbearable suffering of the population”, Miroslav Jenca, UN assistant secretary general for Europe, Central Asia and the Americas, told an emergency meeting at the UN Security Council on Sunday.
Mr Netanyahu 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.
He also promised that Israel “will designate safe corridors for the passage and distribution of aid in the Gaza Strip.”
On Saturday, Israeli far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said he no longer had faith Mr Netanyahu was able to lead the army to a “decisive victory” in Gaza, calling for the annexation of large parts of the enclave.
Mr Smotrich called on Mr Netanyahu to aim for a complete victory in which Hamas would either surrender and release all hostages or be defeated. This would include the “annexation of large parts of the Gaza Strip and opening its gates to voluntary migration”, he said.
