Far-Right Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with senior security officials on Tuesday, August 5, to hammer out Gaza genocide war plans, and reportedly came out in favor of the military taking control of the entire Strip, even if it meant that the remaining Israeli hostages could be killed. The meeting came amid multiple reports of rising tensions between the Prime Minister and the army’s Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir over the prospect of Israeli forces fully occupying the enclave.
Yedioth Aharonoth military correspondent Yossi Yehoshua wrote on Tuesday morning “If Netanyahu really is interested in making the really dramatic and divisive decision among the Israeli public — the occupation of Gaza City and the central camps — he needs to stand before the nation, clarify the expected price to the lives of the hostages and soldiers who will fall, and declare that he takes full responsibility, despite the army’s opposition.”
According to reports in Hebrew media, several ministers said Netanyahu used the term “occupation of the Strip” in private conversations describing his vision for the expansion of military operations in Gaza — a notable shift in tone.
More than 15 people were killed in the widespread destruction caused by the Israeli colonial forces’ targeting of the Nofal family’s home and the surrounding tents of displaced people in the Al-Mawasi area of Khan Yunis, Gaza Strip July 28 (Photo: Activestills)
The Ynet news site quoted a senior official close to the premier as saying, “The die is cast — we are going for a full occupation of the Gaza Strip.” According to Israeli figures, the occupation army currently holds control over approximately 75 percent of the Gaza Strip, but under the new plan, the military would be expected to occupy the remaining territory as well — bringing the entire enclave under Israeli control. “Netanyahu has decided to full occupy Gaza after his plans to pursuit the genocide and starved the Palestinians failed due to the aggressive opposition from the world. The United States has given Israel the green light to initiate ‘powerful military actions’ in Gaza, and likely to indefinitely the Gaza Strip,” Hadash says.
MK Ofer Cassif (Hadash) agreed, “Already on October 9, 2023, I warned that the Israeli government would use Hamas’s criminal massacre as a pretext to justify Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s genocidal ‘Subjugation Plan.’ Now, can anyone truly be surprised by Crime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s declaration that Israel intends to destroy all the Gaza Ghetto, including the hostages, who themselves are seen as mere obstacles to this government’s ruthless agenda? Those who remain silent or complicit in the face of this unfolding genocide are, by their inaction, partners in the crime.”
Following reports on the Hebrew media about cabinet plans to expand the occupation in Gaza, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said the premier “is leading Israel and the hostages to the abyss.”
“Netanyahu is preparing the greatest scam,” said the Forum, which represents the families of the remaining 50 hostages. “The talk, which has been heard again and again, about releasing the hostages through decisive victory, is a fraud.” “For 22 months the public has been sold the illusion that ‘military pressure’ and ‘intense fighting will bring the hostages back,’ said the Forum. “Even before the draft for a comprehensive deal was written, we’re being told there is no feasibility for a deal.” “The truth must be told: Expanding the war endangers the lives of the hostages who are at risk of imminent death. We saw the chilling images of the hostages in the tunnels, they won’t survive more long days of horror,” the group said, adding that expanding the Gaza war “is a guarantee of the failure of the century.”
Over 2,000 Israeli artists and authors in the creative community were listed as signatories on the petition published Sunday, which urged Israel’s leadership to stop the war and called on those involved to not commit war crimes. “Against our values and will, we find ourselves complicit in the horrific actions carried out by our government in Gaza: the killing of children and civilians, policies of starvation, mass displacement, and the senseless destruction of entire cities,” read the statement, which drew wide attention, some of it negative. Also, on Monday evening five anti-war activists were arrested as police blocked a march to the border with Gaza, calling to end the siege on the enclave.
Health Ministry in Gaza reported on Monday that 94 people were killed in the past 24 hours, including five adults who died from malnutrition. This raises the total death toll since the war began on October 7 to 60,933, with 180 people having died from hunger-related causes, including 93 children.
Related: https://maki.org.il/en/?p=32895
