Israeli tanks wait in an IDF staging area in southern Israel along the border with the Gaza Strip on Wednesday. The United Nations is calling for an immediate end to hostilities to prevent a massive loss of civilian lives. Photo by Jim Hollander/UPI | License Photo
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has approved the takeover of Gaza City by the Israel Defense Force and called for negotiating the release of hostages.
Taking control of Gaza City, which is the largest city in Gaza, and negotiating for the release of remaining hostages held by Hamas will enable Israel to end the war in Gaza on its terms, Netanyahu said in a Thursday night video statement, Haaretz reported.
Netanyahu visited the IDF’s Gaza Division on Thursday as the war entered what he called a “decisive stage,” according to The Jerusalem Post.
“I arrived today at the Gaza Division to approve the plans presented by the IDF to me and the defense minister for the takeover of Gaza City and the defeat of Hamas,” Netanyahu said.
The Israeli prime minister also ordered the “immediate initiation of negotiations” to release about 50 remaining hostages, most of whom are considered to be dead, and end the war.
“These two objectives — defeating Hamas and securing the release of all our hostages — go hand in hand,” he said.
Netanyahu was “impressed” with the military plans to take control of Gaza City, which he OK’d after reviewing them during a visit to IDF forces in southern Gaza, The Hill reported.
Israel extended the deployments of about 20,000 reservists and called up another 60,000 as the IDF undertakes its offensive in northern Gaza.
The Israeli military will have five divisions operating in Gaza when it reaches full strength after deploying the additional reservists, who won’t be used in the Gaza City offensive.
Only active duty personnel will carry out the Gaza City military operation, an unnamed IDF official told The Hill.
Gaza City is home to about 1 million people, according to the United Nations, which has called for an immediate cease-fire to prevent a large loss of life.
Officials in Qatar and Egypt recently conveyed a cease-fire proposal that they said Hamas has accepted, but would not release all hostages.
The proposal also would require Israel to release Palestinian prisoners while negotiating a long-term truce and the withdrawal of IDF troops from some parts of Gaza.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for an immediate cease-fire and a full release of all hostages held by Hamas.
“It is vital to reach immediately a cease-fire in Gaza and the unconditional release of all hostages,” Guterres told reporters while at a Tokyo conference on Thursday.
Such actions are needed to “avoid the massive death and destruction that a military operation against Gaza City would inevitably cause,” Guterres said.
The IDF on Wednesday announced it had begun a military offensive against Az Zaytoun in Gaza City and Jabalya in northern Gaza with the aim of ridding the area of Hamas.
The United Nations reported shelling and continuous drone airstrikes, including against residential buildings, and the destruction of residential homes by IDF forces using explosives to target Hamas.
The IDF is using quadcopters and phone calls to warn Jabalya residents to evacuate the area while military operations are underway.
The IDF has “totally destroyed” parts of southern and southeast Gaza City while undertaking the city’s “systematic destruction,” the U.N. said.
The military operations have displaced much of the local population in Jabalya and Gaza City as the IDF continues its military operations in other parts of Gaza, including Khan Younis.
U.N. officials reported “acute malnourishment [is] soaring among children in Gaza City,” with 28.5% of those screened showing signs of malnourishment, the U.N. Relief and Works Agency reported.
IDF actions in southern Gaza have “crippled” UNRWA’s ability to provide aid for Gazans there, while its offensive in Gaza City and Jabalya endangers efforts in northern Gaza, according to the U.N.
