Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has clashed with military chiefs over Gaza re-occupation plans. Another 23 Palestinians have been killed since dawn in artillery and air strikes
Israel’s incendiary plan to re-occupy Gaza is “deeply alarming” and could lead to catastrophic consequences”, a UN official has declared. The alarm was issued as the military continued to pound the war-battered enclave with air-strikes and artillery, killing 23 Gazans since dawn this morning.
And plans to re-take Gaza in its entirety also clash with advice from Israel ’s senior military commanders, according to reports. Assistant Secretary General Miroslav Jenča told the UN Security Council on Wednesday that under international law, Gaza “is and must remain an integral part of a future Palestinian state.” He also warned Gaza faces “squalid” and “inhumane” conditions, and urged Israel to immediately allow the unimpeded passage of sufficient aid.
There are reports a UN clinic sheltering displaced people in Gaza City has been hit, according to on the ground witnesses. But United States President Donald Trump said it is “pretty much up to Israel” to decide if it proceeds. Trump has been distracted this week as the Gaza warning comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin warned of nuclear war after unleashing another night of hell on Ukraine.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has clashed with his military chiefs over the occupation plans. They believe there is no strategic gain to be made as regards Israel’s security and nor will it help get the remaining hostages freed.
Netanyahu and Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir are said to have had a bust-up with Zamir arguing that the decision constitutes a “trap” for his troops. The pair argued, according to Hebrew media reports, over a post on X by the PM’s son, Yair Netanyahu, who does not hold a government position.
The younger Netanyahu lashed out at Zamir and suggested that he was behind a “rebellion and attempted military coup that is fit for a banana republic in Central America in the 70s.” Zamir objected to that accusation, saying in the meeting, according to the Kan public broadcaster: “How does that look? Why are you attacking me? Why are you speaking against me in the middle of a war?”
Many military experts believe Hamas has been almost destroyed by the war, most of its leadership killed and aid blockades have left fighters struggling to survive. Israelis have repeatedly demonstrated in the streets for Netanyahu to end the war and prioritise the release of hostages.
Horrific imagery of starving children in the Strip, with close to 100 feared to have died of malnutrition or starvation, has galvanised world opinion against Netanyahu’s insistence the war must continue. Many Israelis fear the continued attacks will further endanger the lives of the surviving hostages.
And aid agencies throughout the west have insisted the war must stop and that they must be allowed safely to re-take responsibility for distributing aid throughout the Strip. Currently the US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is controlling aid distribution.
There are also reports of Palestinians killed and injured after a truck carrying humanitarian aid overturned onto a crowd of people in central Gaza, according to the Government Media Office in the enclave. The incident occurred on Wednesday as large numbers of Palestinians gathered in central Gaza in search of food and basic supplies, amid an increasingly dire humanitarian crisis.
Netanyahu reportedly responded, “Don’t threaten to quit in the media. I can’t accept that every time you threaten that if we don’t accept your plans, you’ll leave. My son is 33, he’s a grown man.”
Zamir has repeatedly clashed with the cabinet over the government’s move to expand the war in Gaza. The IDF chief also reportedly said full occupation would endanger the 50 hostages held by terror groups in Gaza.
The war has killed at least 61,020 people and wounded 150,671. As many as 1,200 people were killed in Israel during the October 7, 2023, attacks on southern Israel, and 250 were taken captive. Just 20 now thought to be still alive, although, like the rest of Gaza, desperately in need of food and water.
It also triggered a major conflict with Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, Houthi rebels in Yemen and rebel militias in Iraq. There has been a constant threat that Israel’s war could explode into the wider region. And it has pressured the British government into demanding an end to the war in Gaza.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has threatened Netanyahu that the UK will recognise the state of Palestine if the war is not halted soon.