Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday defended a planned military offensive into Gaza City, saying Israel “has no choice but to finish the job and complete the defeat of Hamas.”
Speaking to foreign media in Jerusalem, Netanyahu asserted that Israel’s goal was not to occupy Gaza, but to “free Gaza.”
The Israeli leader said there is a “fairly short timetable” in mind for the next steps in Gaza.
The goals in Gaza, he said, include demilitarizing the enclave, maintaining the Israeli military’s “overriding security control” and putting a non-Israeli civilian administration in charge.
The news conference came two days after Israel’s Security Cabinet approved a plan for the Israeli military to take over Gaza City. The move sparked condemnation inside and outside Israel, and fears that the plan would exacerbate the Gaza Strip’s humanitarian problems and put the remaining living hostages held by Hamas since Oct. 7, 2023, in further danger.
Netanyahu’s address came just before the United Nations Security Council holds an emergency meeting on Israel’s plan to take control of Gaza City.
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