Egypt Daily News – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Israel must avoid a famine in Gaza “for diplomatic reasons,” a day after he announced the decision to allow a “basic quantity” of food into the strip, following a complete halt of aid deliveries since March.
In a video posted on his Telegram channel, Netanyahu stated, “We must not allow the population [in Gaza] to slip into famine, for both practical and diplomatic reasons,” noting that even Israel’s supporters would not tolerate “scenes of mass starvation.”
Netanyahu also stressed that Israeli forces would take full control of the Gaza Strip, adding that the military is “preventing Hamas from looting the aid.” In response to criticism from far-right members of his government, he said: “We are engaged in intense fighting inside the Gaza Strip, and progress is being made.”
He added: “We will take full control of the entire Gaza Strip. To do that, we must act in a way that prevents them from stopping us.”
The Israeli prime minister emphasized that “part of defeating Hamas, alongside immense military pressure, is essentially full control over Gaza. That is the war and victory plan.” He explained that the decision to allow aid into Gaza came after “approaching the red line” and in an effort to avoid international criticism.
He stated: “We were rapidly approaching the red line, a situation where we could lose control, and everything could collapse.”
Netanyahu’s office said on Sunday that “Israel will allow a basic amount of food to enter the population, to prevent the worsening of a hunger crisis in the Gaza Strip.” Netanyahu said allowing some aid would enable Israel to expand its new military operation.
Israel had imposed a total ban on the entry of humanitarian aid starting March 2, barring all food, medicine, and other supplies from entering Gaza while applying pressure on Hamas to accept new ceasefire terms. Israel resumed the war days later, ending a two-month truce.
Thirty aid trucks to enter Gaza daily this week
Thirty aid trucks are scheduled to enter Gaza daily throughout this week.
Last night, the Israeli military announced the beginning of a new ground invasion in several areas inside the strip, marking a serious escalation in the ongoing war of annihilation that has lasted nearly 19 months.
Since October 7, 2023, Israel has been committing acts of genocide in the Gaza Strip, resulting in over 174,000 people killed or injured, most of them women and children, with more than 11,000 missing and hundreds of thousands displaced.
