Netanyahu pushing for full-scale occupation of Gaza
There’s been a lot of leaks through the Israeli media, specifically the pro-government media, that a full occupation of Gaza is very much on the table.
It’s not been officially declared, but Defence Minister Israel Katz was inside Gaza today, and he said the army will implement any policies adopted by the political echelon.
Netanyahu has said Israel is intent on continuing its war, defeating Hamas, bringing back the captives and making sure Gaza doesn’t pose a threat to Israel.
There was supposed to be a cabinet meeting, but that has been reduced to a security meeting because of some problems with the military chief of staff, Eyal Zamir.
According to Israeli media, Zamir does not seem convinced of the benefits of a full-scale occupation. He would prefer to segment the strip even further and carry out pinpointed military operations. So that needs to be ironed out first before involving the wider cabinet.
But it seems very much that Netanyahu intends to do that even though the families of the captives are very much against it.
Gaza war has turned into ‘war of starvation, annihilation’: Egyptian leader
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi says that “the war in Gaza is no longer a war to achieve diplomatic objectives or to free hostages – it has become a war of starvation, annihilation, and the elimination of the Palestinian cause”.
At a media conference in Cairo with Vietnamese President Luong Cuong, el-Sisi added that “history will hold many countries accountable for their stance on the war in Gaza, and the global human conscience will not remain silent for long”.
Egypt “will not be a gateway for the displacement of the Palestinian people”, he added.
The Egyptian leader highlighted that more than 5,000 aid trucks are on Egyptian territory ready to enter Gaza.
Palestinians in Gaza burning waste as fuel runs dry: OCHA
Gaza’s worsening fuel crisis is pushing Palestinians to burn tyres, rubber and waste to power tuk-tuks and motorbikes, creating what United Nations officials warn are hazardous methods to generate energy.
“People are burning anything they can find to produce low-grade fuel,” said Olga Cherevko, of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). “This is contributing to massive environmental damage and public health risks.”
Fuel shortages have also crippled essential services. “Ambulances cannot run, hospitals cannot operate, water trucks also cannot be delivered,” she said.
OCHA says its aid convoys are regularly delayed by Israeli-imposed restrictions. “Our missions sometimes last 18 hours or longer. The routes we’re given are often impossible and very dangerous,” Cherevko said.
In a post on social media, OCHA also warned: “People are resorting to dangerous methods … Our work is being systematically obstructed.”
Cherevko said the UN can no longer deliver aid at scale using its normal community-based systems. “We need it very, very urgently,” she said.
