Israel’s Smotrich says Netanyahu’s plans for Gaza City’s seizure don’t go far enough
The Israeli government-approved plan to seize Gaza City and forcibly displace nearly a million Palestinians is too limited, far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says as he pushes for a broader military takeover.
“You cannot take the army, put it into this manoeuvre that could have a high price and then stop in the middle,” Smotrich said in comments carried by The Times of Israel.
Seizing larger swaths of the territory and settling them is “the only way to maintain security,” argued Smotrich, who has long advocated for Israel to rebuild settlements in Gaza.
Still, Smotrich said he would not abandon Netanyahu’s coalition for now because he believes “its course can be changed”.
Israel ‘will know how to conquer Gaza City’, army chief says
Israel’s army chief Eyal Zamir has told his commanders that the war on Gaza is entering a new phase after the directive from political leaders to seize Gaza City in a stated effort to defeat Hamas.
The Israeli military “will know how to conquer Gaza City, just as we knew how to conquer Khan Younis and Rafah”, he said, referring to the largely-levelled cities in southern Gaza, during a situation assessment meeting, according to a statement by the army.
“Our forces have manoeuvred there in the past, we will know how to do it again.”
However, Zamir said invading Israeli soldiers must have some “breathing space” between deployments in order to be able to carry out their duties.
Israel ‘does not have the time’ for partial Gaza deals: Minister
Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, who is a confidant of PM Benjamin Netanyahu, says Israel may not be able to afford to agree to a partial ceasefire and exchange deal with Hamas due to time constraints.
There is a very high probability that mediators will offer outlines for a new partial deal that will open the door for negotiations, but “this is a time we do not have”, Dermer said, according to a report by Israel’s Channel 12.
“We do not have all the time, even from Trump’s perspective,” he said, adding that US President Donald Trump cannot allow the war to go on for a long time. Dermer expressed concern that Israel may not be able to return to fighting as it wants after the 60-day period of the ceasefire.
“We will not have the credit for that,” he said.
Trump agrees with Netanyahu about more military pressure on Hamas
Donald Trump has not explicitly backed or opposed Israel’s plan to seize Gaza City, but agrees with Benjamin Netanyahu that more military pressure is required on Hamas, according to news site Axios.
Hamas “are not going to let the hostages out in the current situation”, the US president said during a brief phone interview, adding that the US and Israel knew it was going to be “very rough to get them”.
After Netanyahu’s office said the Israeli prime minister discussed with Trump plans to “take control of the remaining Hamas strongholds in Gaza” during a phone call on Sunday, Trump has now described it as a “good call”.
The US president said Israel must decide what to do next, but he believes that Hamas “can’t stay there” in Gaza any longer.
