Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu boldly declared on Monday that Gaza now fully belongs to Israel, vowing to eliminate all “occupiers” through a relentless military campaign. His announcement signals Israel’s intent to seize complete control of the territory, intensifying the conflict despite global condemnation.
In a video statement posted on Telegram, Netanyahu declared: “The fighting is intense and we are making progress. We will take control of all the territory of the strip… We will not give up. But in order to succeed, we must act in a way that cannot be stopped.”
Yournews.com reports: The announcement comes amid expanded “extensive ground operations” by the Israeli military and follows deadly air strikes across the region. Gaza rescuers reported at least 22 civilians killed in the latest bombardments.
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Facing rising diplomatic pressure, including from longtime ally President Donald Trump, Netanyahu confirmed that Israel would allow a “basic amount” of humanitarian aid into Gaza “for practical and diplomatic reasons.”
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“We must not let the population [of Gaza] sink into famine,” Netanyahu said, noting that even Israel’s closest partners would not tolerate “images of mass starvation.”
The UN- and NGO-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification warned earlier this month that Gaza is at “critical risk of famine”, with 22 percent of the population facing imminent humanitarian catastrophe.
President Trump, addressing the crisis last week, acknowledged that “a lot of people are starving,” and pledged, “we’re going to get that taken care of.”
Despite the limited resumption of aid, opposition within Netanyahu’s coalition remains fierce. Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir denounced the move on X, saying, “The Prime Minister is making a serious mistake… Hamas must only be crushed, and not at the same time provided with oxygen for its survival.”
Ben Gvir added: “Our hostages receive no humanitarian aid.”
Israel’s military reported Monday that it had struck 160 “terror targets” over the past 24 hours, particularly in southern Gaza’s Khan Yunis. Civil defense officials confirmed 11 deaths in the city, with another 11 reported killed in other areas.
AFPTV footage showed desperate scenes of survivors sifting through rubble. “All my family members are gone. There is no one left,” said Warda al-Shaer. “The children were killed as well as their parents. My mother died too, and my niece lost her eye.”
Since March 2, Israel has enforced a total blockade on Gaza, cutting off food, water, fuel, and medicine. The blockade, according to Israeli officials, was meant to increase pressure on Hamas to make concessions in ongoing negotiations.
The latest military campaign began Saturday as indirect talks resumed in Qatar, where Trump envoy Steve Witkoff has been engaged in efforts to broker a deal. Netanyahu’s office confirmed that negotiators in Doha are working “to exhaust every possibility for a deal,” under the so-called Witkoff framework.
Any agreement, according to Netanyahu, would require “the release of all the hostages, the exile of Hamas terrorists, and the disarmament of the Gaza Strip.”
Negotiations have faltered repeatedly. Hamas insists on preserving its arsenal, while Netanyahu has pledged to continue the war until Hamas is destroyed.
The toll of the conflict continues to climb. Gaza’s health ministry reports at least 3,193 deaths since the fighting resumed on March 18, bringing the war’s total death count to 53,339. Hamas’s October 2023 attack killed 1,218 people in Israel and resulted in 251 hostages, of whom 57 are believed to remain in Gaza—34 of them presumed dead.
As Netanyahu pushes ahead with what he calls the final phase of the war, pressure from the international community—including humanitarian agencies, religious leaders, and foreign governments—continues to grow over the conditions inside Gaza.
Pope Leo XIV, in his inaugural mass, implored the world not to forget “our brothers and sisters who are suffering because of war,” adding, “In Gaza, the surviving children, families and elderly are reduced to starvation.”