United Nations secretary-general António Guterres has criticized Israel’s plan to take control of Gaza City, with the UN chief’s spokesperson saying the decision marked “a dangerous escalation” that risks “deepening the already catastrophic consequences for millions of Palestinians”.
That decision “will result in additional forced displacement, killings and massive destruction, compounding the unimaginable suffering of the Palestinian population in Gaza,” the statement added.
Guterres also posted a statement on X:
I’m gravely alarmed by the decision of the Israeli Government to “take control of Gaza City”. This marks a dangerous escalation & risks deepening the already catastrophic consequences for millions of Palestinians. It could further endanger more lives, including of the remaining hostages. I reiterate my urgent appeal for a permanent ceasefire, unimpeded humanitarian access across Gaza & the immediate & unconditional release of all hostages.
It follows the UN high commissioner for human rights, Volker Türk, saying earlier today that “the Israeli government’s plan for a complete military takeover of the occupied Gaza Strip must be immediately halted”.
In a statement, Türk said:
It runs contrary to the ruling of the International Court of Justice that Israel must bring its occupation to an end as soon as possible, to the realisation of the agreed two-state solution and to the right of Palestinians to self-determination.
The plan triggered global condemnation, with China, Turkey, Britain and numerous Arab governments issuing statements of concern.
Updated at 13.55 EDT
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Summary
Israel’s plan to take control of Gaza City marks “a dangerous escalation” that risks “deepening the already catastrophic consequences for millions of Palestinians”, the UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres said. That decision “will result in additional forced displacement, killings and massive destruction, compounding the unimaginable suffering of the Palestinian population in Gaza,” a statement from the UN chief’s spokesperson added.
The UN Security Council will meet in a rare weekend session on Saturday to discuss the situation. The meeting at 7pm GMT had been requested by several members of the security council as global concern mounts over Israel’s plan.
The German government will not approve any exports of military equipment that could be used in the Gaza Strip until further notice, chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Friday in response to Israel’s plan to expand its military operations there. Netanyahu accused the German government of “rewarding Hamas terrorism”. The move is hugely significant from Germany, which believes it has a special responsibility towards Israel and is its second-largest arms supplier after the US.
France joined the chorus of countries including among others the UK, China, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, condemning the Israeli plan, saying it would “worsen an already catastrophic situation without enabling the release of Hamas hostages, its disarmament, or its surrender”. France’s ministry of foreign affairs has issued a press release, condemning the plan “in the strongest terms”. It reads: “These actions would constitute further serious violations of international law and lead to an absolute stalemate. They would undermine the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinians to live in peace in a viable, sovereign, and contiguous state, and pose a threat to regional stability.” The ministry added that Israel’s plans would “in no way” contribute to the security of Israelis, including the remaining hostages in Gaza. The future of Gaza should be through a “framework of a future Palestinian state led by the Palestinian Authority”, it said.
Israel’s decision to take over Gaza City “must have consequences for EU-Israel relations”, EU Council president Antonio Costa said on Friday, adding that this will be assessed by the Council and that he urged the Israeli government to reconsider.
Hamas warned the Israeli government that seizing control of Gaza City would amount to “sacrificing” the hostages still being held in the Palestinian territory. The group said: “The decision to occupy Gaza confirms that the criminal [Israeli prime minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and his Nazi government do not care about the fate of their captives.”
Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert told CNN that Israel’s plan to take control of Gaza City won’t save the remaining hostages, but will rather endanger lives and “increase the number of crimes” in the territory. He told CNN today that an expanded military operation “is not going to save the hostages, is going to cost the lives of many soldiers, and is going to cost the lives of many non-involved Palestinians”. Olmert, was prime minister from 2006 to 2009, blamed the decision on Benjamin Netanyahu’s struggle to hold together his government.
Updated at 15.36 EDT
Former Israeli PM says Gaza City takeover plan will endanger many lives
Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert has said that Israel’s plan to take control of Gaza City won’t save the remaining hostages, but will rather endanger lives and “increase the number of crimes” in the territory.
He told CNN today that an expanded military operation “is not going to save the hostages, is going to cost the lives of many soldiers, and is going to cost the lives of many non-involved Palestinians”.
“It will increase the number of crimes which will be committed not as part of a policy. There is no policy of committing crimes or of genocide or anything like that,” he said. “But this is the nature of this operation.”
Olmert, was prime minister from 2006 to 2009, said ending the war would save the hostages still being held in Gaza and other victims. He blamed the decision on Benjamin Netanyahu’s struggle to hold together his government.
The prime minister personally is captive of a group of messianic partners in the coalition government which holds the tide. And they threaten that if the decision will be different, they will break down the government.
This is the universal consensus in Israel today that this is a political expediency. There is no question about it.
Last month, Olmert told my colleague Emma Graham-Harrison that the so-called “humanitarian city” Israel’s defence minister has proposed building on the ruins of Rafah would be a concentration camp, and forcing Palestinians inside would be ethnic cleansing.
We now have confirmation of AFP’s report that the United Nations Security Council will indeed meet on Saturday, according to its schedule released today, after Israel’s security cabinet approved a widely condemned plan to take control of Gaza City.
Ambassador Riyad Mansour, permanent observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, had earlier said a number of countries would be requesting a meeting of the UN Security Council on Israel’s plans.
The meeting will take place at 7pm GMT on Saturday, the schedule says.
Updated at 14.39 EDT
US envoy to Israel taunts UK PM and likens Gaza assault to Dresden bombing
Robert Tait
The US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, has launched an undiplomatic attack on Keir Starmer by invoking the allied second world war bombing of Dresden after the British prime minister criticised the Israeli security cabinet’s decision to expand the war in Gaza.
“So Israel is expected to surrender to Hamas & feed them even though Israeli hostages are being starved?” Huckabee wrote on social media (repeating the un-evidenced Israeli government talking point that Hamas is stealing aid meant for civilians). He was responding to a post by Starmer calling for an immediate ceasefire and lamenting the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, as well as the fate of the remaining Israeli hostages being held by Hamas.
Mike Huckabee posted: ‘Ever heard of Dresden, PM Starmer? That wasn’t food you dropped. If you had been PM then UK would be speaking German!’ Photograph: Nasser Nasser/AP
Provocatively, Huckabee, who has a history of making intemperate comments in Israel’s favour, added:
Did UK surrender to Nazis and drop food to them? Ever heard of Dresden, PM Starmer? That wasn’t food you dropped. If you had been PM then UK would be speaking German!
The bombing of Dresden by the RAF and US air force in February 1945 is believed to have killed tens of thousands of civilians. It remains one of the most controversial allied acts of the second world war, amid questions marks over its strategic necessity and the widespread destruction in civilian areas.
You can read Robert’s full piece here:
Further to the French foreign minister’s comments I brought you a little while ago, France’s ministry of foreign affairs has issued a press release, condemning “in the strongest terms” the Israeli government’s plans to take control of Gaza City.
It reads:
These actions would constitute further serious violations of international law and lead to an absolute stalemate. They would undermine the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinians to live in peace in a viable, sovereign, and contiguous state, and pose a threat to regional stability.
The ministry added that Israel’s plans would “in no way” contribute to the security of Israelis, including the remaining hostages in Gaza.
The future of Gaza should be through a “framework of a future Palestinian state led by the Palestinian Authority”, it said.
In July, Emmanuel Macron said that France will recognize a Palestinian state in September.
ShareIsrael occupying Gaza City would ‘worsen an already catastrophic situation’, says French foreign minister
France has joined the chorus of countries strongly condemning Israel’s plan to occupy Gaza City, saying it would “worsen an already catastrophic situation without enabling the release of Hamas hostages, its disarmament, or its surrender”.
In a post on X, the French foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, wrote:
France strongly condemns the Israeli government’s plan aimed at preparing for the complete occupation of Gaza. Such an operation would worsen an already catastrophic situation without enabling the release of Hamas hostages, its disarmament, or its surrender.
Updated at 13.43 EDT
UN Security Council meeting on Saturday over Israel’s Gaza plan – report
The United Nations Security Council will meet in a rare weekend session on Saturday to discuss Israel’s plan to take control of Gaza City, three diplomatic sources have told Agence France-Presse.
The meeting at 7pm GMT had been requested by several members of the security council, a member of the council told AFP, as global concern mounts over Israel’s plan.
ShareUN chief calls Israeli plan to take control of Gaza City a ‘dangerous escalation’
United Nations secretary-general António Guterres has criticized Israel’s plan to take control of Gaza City, with the UN chief’s spokesperson saying the decision marked “a dangerous escalation” that risks “deepening the already catastrophic consequences for millions of Palestinians”.
That decision “will result in additional forced displacement, killings and massive destruction, compounding the unimaginable suffering of the Palestinian population in Gaza,” the statement added.
Guterres also posted a statement on X:
I’m gravely alarmed by the decision of the Israeli Government to “take control of Gaza City”. This marks a dangerous escalation & risks deepening the already catastrophic consequences for millions of Palestinians. It could further endanger more lives, including of the remaining hostages. I reiterate my urgent appeal for a permanent ceasefire, unimpeded humanitarian access across Gaza & the immediate & unconditional release of all hostages.
It follows the UN high commissioner for human rights, Volker Türk, saying earlier today that “the Israeli government’s plan for a complete military takeover of the occupied Gaza Strip must be immediately halted”.
In a statement, Türk said:
It runs contrary to the ruling of the International Court of Justice that Israel must bring its occupation to an end as soon as possible, to the realisation of the agreed two-state solution and to the right of Palestinians to self-determination.
The plan triggered global condemnation, with China, Turkey, Britain and numerous Arab governments issuing statements of concern.
Updated at 13.55 EDT
Displaced repeatedly. Forced to live in tent camps or amid the ruins of their homes. Stricken by hunger and deprived of medical supplies.
Now, 22 months into the war, around a million Palestinians are bracing for another catastrophe after the Israeli security cabinet’s decision to take control of the entire Gaza Strip. Such an offensive would force them toward the south of the enclave, and an uncertain future.
“Since this morning, after hearing the news of evacuation of Gaza City, I have been been feeling anxious and afraid,’’ said Umm Ibrahim Banat, a 55-year-old mother, originally from northern Gaza, who has already been displaced four times. ‘‘Where will we go with the children and the elderly? I swear we are exhausted from displacement, starvation, and being driven from one place to another.”
“Now,” she said, “We are the walking dead.’’
Following a 10-hour overnight meeting, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced on Friday that his security cabinet had approved a plan to take over Gaza City, marking another escalation of Israel’s offensive that has killed at least 61,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians.
According to Israel’s Channel 12 the plan, which would mean sending ground troops into the territory, could displace tens of thousands of people and further disrupt efforts to deliver food to the territory and force approximately 1 million Palestinians in Gaza City and other areas into evacuation areas in the southern part of the enclave.
“Gaza has been completely destroyed – what more can they do?”, said Banat, whose daughter Maryam was killed with her husband and children. “We have lost the best of our youth; our territory is a huge prison besieged by land, sea, and air; the destruction has become unbearable; diseases are spreading, tents stretch as far as the eye can see, water is contaminated, prices are insane, hospitals are in ruins, our lives are utterly tragic! What more do they want?”
The US and UK have “disagreements” on Gaza including over whether to recognise a Palestinian state, JD Vance has suggested as he arrived in England for his summer holiday.
The US vice-president was speaking ahead of a bilateral meeting with David Lammy, the UK foreign secretary, at his 17th-century grace-and-favour country house, Chevening.
His remarks on Gaza marked a note of discord in what otherwise appeared to be a convivial meeting between the two politicians, who have struck up an unlikely friendship. The pair have bonded over their Christian faith and difficult childhoods.
Before speaking to reporters on Friday afternoon, Lammy and Vance were filmed fishing for carp together in a pond near Chevening House. Expressing his love for the UK and describing Lammy as a “good friend” and “gracious host”, Vance joked that their varying degrees of success in the carp pond was the “one strain on the special relationship”.
“All of my kids caught fish, but the foreign secretary did not,” he said.