Israel has approved a plan to seize the entire Gaza Strip and maintain control over it indefinitely, Israeli officials have announced.
Israel has approved a plan to seize the entire Gaza Strip and maintain control over it indefinitely, Israeli officials have announced.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has so far failed to achieve his goal – the destruction of Hamas and the return of all hostages – despite more than a year of brutal war in Gaza.
Israeli officials told Reuters that the new plan includes the distribution of aid, but that supplies will still not be allowed to enter.
The official stated that the plan would involve moving Gaza’s civilian population south and preventing humanitarian aid from falling into the hands of Hamas.
The United Nations on Sunday rejected what it described as a new plan to distribute aid through Israeli centers.
Israeli government ministers approved new offensive plans on Monday morning, hours after it was announced that tens of thousands of reservists were being called up.
FIND OUT MORE:
Although the goals of the war – the destruction of Hamas and the release of hostages – remain unachieved, officials claim that this plan could contribute to those goals, although it would simultaneously force hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to move to the southern part of Gaza, exacerbating the already dire humanitarian situation.
The plan includes “taking the strip and holding territories,” with the aim of preventing Hamas from using humanitarian aid to consolidate its power.
The UN rejected the plan, assessing that a large part of the population, including the most vulnerable, would be left without basic necessities, and that the plan “looks like an attempt to use control over vital resources as a means of pressure – part of a military strategy.”
According to data from the Hamas-run Ministry of Health, more than 52,000 Palestinians have been killed since the Israeli army launched a ground offensive in the densely populated enclave.
The offensive followed deadly Hamas attacks on Israel, in which 1,200 people were killed and about 250 kidnapped.
A fragile ceasefire that allowed the exchange of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners collapsed earlier this year.
MORE TOPICS:
COLUMN, KOVAČEVIĆ: On the police, batons, revolution and its children…
ALL MEMBERS OF OUR TEAM WON MEDALS: Six medals for Serbia at the Balkan Mathematical Olympiad!
Source: Nova.rs, Foto: AP



