‘The fighting is intense and we are making progress. We will take control of all the territory of the Strip,’ Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said referring to wartorn Gazaread more
As the Israeli military charged ahead with a newly expanded offensive in the Gaza strip, the country’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israeli forces will “take control of all” of the the territory.
“The fighting is intense and we are making progress. We will take control of all the territory of the Strip,” he said in a video posted to his Telegram channel on Monday (May 19). “We will not give up. But in order to succeed, we must act in a way that cannot be stopped.”
The stated reason for justifying this offensive, started Saturday (May 17) as the two sides entered indirect talks in Qatar on a deal, is to prevent the Palestinian group Hamas from looting aid meant for the population of Gaza, which is suffering extensively because of Israeli military strikes and actions in the ongoing war in West Asia.
Aid to prevent famine in Gaza
Although Netanyahu said Israel must prevent a famine in Gaza after his government announced it would allow limited food aid into the territory, he did not expressly state it was for humanitarian purposes said. The right-wing leader said that it was necessary for Israel to prevent starvation for “diplomatic reasons”.
“We must not let the population (of Gaza) sink into famine, both for practical and diplomatic reasons,” Netanyahu said in the video posted to his Telegram channel, adding that even friends of Israel would not tolerate “images of mass starvation”.
In a report this month, the UN- and NGO-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification said Gaza was at “critical risk of famine”, with 22 per cent of the population facing an imminent humanitarian “catastrophe”.
Israel has come under mounting international pressure, including from key backer the United States, to lift a total blockade it imposed on Gaza more than two months ago.
With inputs from agencies