JERUSALEM (AP) \u2014 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday defended a new military offensive in Gaza that’s more sweeping than previously announced, declaring in the face of growing condemnation at home and abroad that Israel \u201chas no choice but to finish the job and complete the defeat of Hamas.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even as more Israelis express concern over the 22-month war, Netanyahu said the security Cabinet last week instructed the dismantling of Hamas strongholds not only in Gaza City but also in the \u201ccentral camps\u201d and Muwasi. A source familiar with the operation, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media, confirmed that Israel plans it in both areas.<\/p>\n
The camps \u2014 sheltering well over a half-million displaced people, according to the U.N. \u2014 had not been part of Israel’s announcement Friday. It was not clear why, though Netanyahu faced criticism this weekend within his ruling coalition that targeting Gaza City was not enough. Netanyahu said there would be \u201csafe zones,” but such designated areas have been bombed in the past.<\/p>\n
Late Sunday, heavy bombardment was reported in Gaza City. Shortly before midnight local time, broadcaster Al Jazeera said correspondent Anas al-Sharif was killed in a strike. Rami Mohanna, administrative director at the nearby Shifa Hospital, said the strike hit a tent for Al Jazeera journalists outside the hospital\u2019s walls. Along with al-Sharif, three other journalists and a driver were killed. <\/p>\n
Israel\u2019s military confirmed it, asserting al-Sharif had \u201cposed as a journalist\u201d and alleging he was with Hamas. Al-Sharif had denied having any political affiliations. The Committee to Protect Journalists last month said it was gravely concerned for his safety and said he was a \u201ctargeted by an Israeli military smear campaign.\u201d<\/p>\n
Netanyahu’s office late Sunday said he had spoken with U.S. President Donald Trump about the plan and thanked him for his \u201csteadfast support.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rejecting starvation in Gaza as well as a \u201cglobal campaign of lies,” Netanyahu spoke to foreign media just before an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council, a platform for outrage but little action on the war.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur goal is not to occupy Gaza, our goal is to free Gaza,\u201d Netanyahu asserted. The goals, he said, include demilitarizing the territory, the Israeli military having \u201coverriding security control\u201d and a non-Israeli civilian administration in charge.<\/p>\n
Israel wants to increase the number of aid distribution sites in Gaza, he said, but in a later briefing to local media, he asserted: \u201cThere is no hunger. There was no hunger. There was a shortage, and there was certainly no policy of starvation.”<\/p>\n
Netanyahu also said he has directed Israel\u2019s military to \u201cbring in more foreign journalists\u201d \u2014 which would be a striking development, as they haven\u2019t been allowed into Gaza beyond military embeds during the war.<\/p>\n
He again blamed many of Gaza\u2019s problems on the Hamas militant group, including civilian deaths, destruction and aid shortages. \u201cHamas still has thousands of armed terrorists,” he asserted, adding that Palestinians are \u201cbegging\u201d to be freed from them.<\/p>\n
Hamas responded with a lengthy statement that summed up Netanyahu’s remarks as \u201cblatant lies.\u201d<\/p>\n
The United States defended Israel, saying it has the right to decide what\u2019s best for its security. It called allegations of genocide in Gaza false.<\/p>\n
The U.S. has veto power at the council and can block proposed actions there.<\/p>\n
Other council members, and U.N. officials, expressed alarm. China called the \u201ccollective punishment\u201d of people in Gaza unacceptable. Russia warned against a \u201creckless intensification of hostilities.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is no longer a looming hunger crisis; this is starvation,\u201d said Ramesh Rajasingham with the U.N. humanitarian office. \u201cHumanitarian conditions are beyond horrific. We have frankly run out of words to describe it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Israel faces growing action even by its closest allies. Netanyahu said Chancellor Friedrich Merz of Germany had \u201cbuckled under\u201d the growing international criticism by stopping exports of military equipment to Israel that could be used in Gaza. Merz, for his part, told public broadcaster ARD that Germany and Israel were talking \u201cvery critically\u201d but Berlin\u2019s overall policies of friendship haven\u2019t changed.<\/p>\n
At least 31 Palestinians were killed while seeking aid in Gaza, hospitals and witnesses said. The Associated Press spoke to witnesses of gunfire in the Israeli-controlled Morag and Netzarim corridors and the Teina area in the south. All accused Israeli forces of firing at crowds trying to reach food distributions or waiting for convoys.<\/p>\n
Fifteen people were killed while waiting for trucks near the Morag corridor that separates the southern cities of Rafah and Khan Younis, according to Nasser hospital.<\/p>\n
The situation is a \u201cdeath trap,\u201d said Jamal al-Laweh, who said Israeli forces opened fire there. \u201cBut I have no other choice to feed the kids.\u201d<\/p>\n
Six were killed while waiting for aid in northern Gaza near the Zikim crossing, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry and Shifa hospital.<\/p>\n
In central Gaza, witnesses said they heard warning shots before fire was aimed toward crowds trying to reach a distribution site operated by the Israeli-backed and U.S.-funded Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. The AP could not independently confirm who fired. Awda hospital said four people were killed by Israeli gunfire.<\/p>\n
Six other aid-seekers were killed while trying to reach GHF sites in Khan Younis and Rafah, Nasser hospital said.<\/p>\n
The GHF sites opened in May as an alternative to the U.N.-run aid system, but operations have been marred by deaths and chaos.<\/p>\n
Responding to AP inquiries, the GHF media office said: \u201cThere were no incidents at or near our sites today.\u201d Israel’s military said there were no incidents involving troops near central Gaza aid sites.<\/p>\n
Israel\u2019s air and ground offensive has displaced most Palestinians and pushed the territory toward famine. Two Palestinian children died of malnutrition-related causes on Saturday, bringing the toll among children to 100 since the war began.<\/p>\n
At least 117 adults have died of malnutrition-related causes since June, when the ministry started to count them.<\/p>\n
The hunger toll is in addition to the ministry\u2019s war toll of 61,400 Palestinians. The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals, doesn\u2019t distinguish between fighters or civilians, but says around half of the dead have been women and children. The U.N. and independent experts consider it the most reliable source on war casualties.<\/p>\n
___<\/p>\n
Shurafa reported from Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, and Magdy from Cairo. Associated Press writers Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel; Sally Abou AlJoud in Beirut; Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations and Jamey Keaten in Geneva contributed.<\/p>\n
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Follow AP\u2019s war coverage at https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/israel-hamas-war<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
JERUSALEM (AP) \u2014 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday defended a new military offensive in Gaza that’s more sweeping than previously announced, declaring in the face of growing condemnation<\/p>\n