BURSTIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that the Israeli military intends to take over the war-torn Gaza Strip, arguing it was necessary to do so for his country's security.
The Israeli leader, in an interview with Fox News, said the takeover of Gaza is intended to “assure our security, remove Hamas there, enable the population to be free of Gaza and to pass it to civilian governance that is not Hamas and not anyone advocating the destruction of Israel."
Netanyahu insisted any Israeli takeover would not be permanent, saying it could be handed over to "Arab forces" at some point.
“We want to have a security perimeter. We don’t want to govern it. We don’t want to be there as a governing body. We want to hand it over to Arab forces that will govern it properly without threatening us and giving Gazans a good life,” Netanyahu told host Bill Hemmer. “That’s not possible with Hamas.”
Netanyahu’s remarks came ahead of the Thursday Israel security cabinet meeting, where the expanded military operation is planned to be discussed. The Israeli leader has received pushback earlier this week from the Israeli military head over the plan to take over the enclave that has been leveled.
The United Nations and other international groups, including those distributing aid, have warned of the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza and urged more aid to be delivered.
The most recent conflict between Israel and Hamas began with the Hamas Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 250 were kidnapped.
The attack has triggered the Israeli military operation that so far has killed over 61,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry. The tally does not differentiate between combatants and civilians.
Both Israel and Hamas, through mediators, have discussed terms for reaching a temporary ceasefire last month, but the plan went sideways with Israel and U.S. officials pinning the blame on Hamas, accusing the group of negotiating in bad faith.
Israel controls around three-quarters of the Gaza Strip.
In late July, President Trump said that the U.S. would assist Palestinians in Gaza with setting up “food centers.”
“It’s going to be working with the United States. We’ll be helping with the food … and we’re going to bring it over there, and we’re also going to make sure they don’t have barriers stopping people,” Trump said at the time.