Netanyahu Seeks Complete Gaza Control; Hamas Denounces Plan As “Coup” Amid Truce Talks
The militant organisation alleged that Netanyahu was leveraging the conflict for personal and ideological objectives.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for full military control over the Gaza Strip, making the statement during an interview with Fox News on Thursday. The remarks come in the midst of renewed efforts to reach a potential ceasefire in the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict. However, Netanyahu’s assertion has attracted immediate and strong condemnation from Hamas, which described the move as “a coup.”
The militant faction accused Netanyahu of using the war to serve his personal agenda and ideological goals. In an official statement, Hamas declared, “Netanyahu’s intention to intensify the aggression proves beyond doubt his willingness to dispose of the captives and sacrifice them for his own interests and extremist ideology.”
Further denouncing the proposal, Hamas claimed that Israel was persisting with a systematic assault on Palestinians in Gaza, according to Reuters. “His plan represents a continuation of policies involving genocide and mass displacement, through the execution of further atrocities against our people in the Gaza Strip,” the statement added.
During his interview, Netanyahu justified Israel’s objective by stating that they aimed to eliminate Hamas’s presence and restore stability. “Our aim is to [take over Gaza] to secure our safety, remove Hamas from the equation, and give freedom back to the residents of Gaza,” he stated.
While advocating military control, Netanyahu clarified that Israel does not intend to maintain long-term occupation of Gaza. He suggested that Arab states could potentially assume administrative control of the region in the future. “We’re not looking to hold it permanently. Our aim is to establish a security buffer,” he said, according to a report by the Irish Independent.
Meanwhile, a Jordanian official told Reuters that Arab countries would only support outcomes endorsed by the Palestinian people. “Arab nations will back only those solutions that Palestinians agree upon,” the official remarked.
Netanyahu convened his security cabinet on Thursday to deliberate on the situation and earlier this week conducted a three-hour meeting with the Israeli military chief, underscoring the gravity of the current military operations.
The ongoing conflict erupted after Hamas launched an unexpected assault on Israel on October 7, 2023. Although there had been indirect negotiations in recent months for a truce and the release of hostages, those discussions broke down in late July.
