Netanyahu is a 'problem', Danish PM says in comments criticising Gaza war

Rare direct criticism of Israeli PM comes amid mounting global outrage over humanitarian situation as military prepares to expand operations

Smoke rises following an Israeli army air strike in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip. AP

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen described Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a “problem”, in a rare direct criticism of the Israeli leader over the continuing war in Gaza.

"Netanyahu is now a problem in himself," Ms Frederiksen told the Jyllands-Posten daily in an interview published on Saturday, and added that his government was going "too far".

Ms Frederiksen said she would try to put pressure on Israel over the “absolutely appalling and catastrophic” humanitarian situation in Gaza as her country currently holds the EU presidency.

“We are one of the countries that wants to increase pressure on Israel, but we have not yet obtained the support of EU members,” she said.

Israel's government has drawn increasing condemnation over the war, including from its allies, but Ms Frederiksen's comments are a rare instance of a world leader directly blaming Mr Netanyahu.

Health authorities in the Palestinian enclave have reported more than 61,800 people killed over more than 22 months, most of them civilian, and Israeli restrictions on the entry of aid have led to widespread hunger and more than 1,800 deaths among desperate crowds trying to collect food.

The Danish Prime Minister also criticised an Israeli decision this week to proceed with a controversial plan to build settlements in area of the occupied West Bank known as "E1", which would effectively divide the Palestinian territory.

Switzerland also criticised the decision on Saturday, saying the move would violate international law and undermines the prospects for a two-state solution.

The Israeli government last week approved plans for the military, which currently controls about 75 per cent of Gaza, to launch an assault on Gaza city that would force about one million residents, about half the population, to move south into an area already packed with people displaced from their homes.

Residents have reported heavy bombardment in the Al Zeitoun area in the city's south in recent days. The Israeli army said it was conducting a range of operations on the outskirts of Gaza city, leaving thousands of residents trapped with no escape.

Palestinians jostle to receive food at a community kitchen in Gaza city on Saturday. AP Photo

The Israeli military continues to carry out attacks across the entire coastal strip, with heavy bombardment early on Saturday that targeted densely populated residential areas in the north and south, the Palestinian state news agency Wafa reported.

Dozens were killed including children and women and others injured in central and southern Gaza, where the Israeli army targeted several areas housing displaced Palestinians, Wafa said.

Civilians seeking aid were also targeted, with at least two killed near a food distribution site in the southern Rafah area that is run by a US and Israel-backed group called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

At least 16 people seeking aid were killed on Friday, many of them were near GHF sites, which the UN has described as "death traps".

According to the UN human rights office, 994 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid near GHF sites between May 27, when it began operations, and August 13, while another 766 were killed along the routes of supply convoys. "Most of these killings were committed by the Israeli military," the agency's office for the Palestinian territories said.

Wafa reported that another Palestinian child starved to death in Gaza on Friday, increasing the number of deaths from hunger and malnutrition to 240, including 107 children, according to Gaza's health ministry said.

At least 112 children are admitted for treatment of malnutrition every day in Gaza, the UN children's agency, Unicef, said on Saturday.

The war began with an attack by Palestinian militants from Gaza, led by the Islamist group Hamas, on October 7, 2023. About 1,200 people were killed in the raids on southern Israel, and about 250 others taken back to Gaza as hostages.

Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas and is demanding that the group disarm and hand over about 50 hostages still in captivity, of whom 20 are believed to be still alive, in exchange for a ceasefire.

Israel insists that Hamas have no role in the postwar governance of Gaza, while also refusing to allow it to be administered by the internationally recognised Palestinian Authority based in the West Bank. Far right members of Mr Netanyahu's government are calling for the territory to be taken over by Israel, 20 years after Israel pulled out.

Gaza withdrawal still shapes Israeli policy two decades on

01:41