Netanyahu doubles down on Gaza offensive after global backlash

Jerusalem: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel defended Sunday his government's plan to launch a renewed offensive against Hamas in parts of the Gaza Strip, following a wave of international condemnation from traditional allies and critics at home.

The Israeli military was preparing to expand its campaign to central Gaza as well as Gaza City, Netanyahu told reporters at a news conference in Jerusalem. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have sought shelter in those areas, hoping they would be safer.

Netanyahu's proposal has drawn fierce criticism from the families of Israeli hostages, who fear their loved ones will be killed in the Israeli assault. The country's leaders also overruled the objections of Israeli military leaders, who had raised concerns over the exhaustion among their soldiers.

"Given Hamas' refusal to lay down its arms, Israel has no choice but to finish the job and complete the defeat of Hamas," Netanyahu said. "Dismantling the two remaining Hamas strongholds in Gaza City and the central camps -- this is the best way to end the war."

On Friday, the Israeli government announced that the security Cabinet -- a group of senior ministers led by Netanyahu -- had approved a plan for the military to prepare to take control of Gaza City. Those preparations could take weeks or months, potentially leaving open options for a diplomatic maneuver that would halt or reverse the military operation.

But the decision quickly spurred anger abroad, where Israel is increasingly blamed for the dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Aid agencies and European countries have blamed Israeli restrictions on aid, as well as a contentious new Israeli-backed relief distribution system, for helping cause severe hunger in Gaza.

The U.N. Security Council met Sunday in New York for a rare weekend gathering called by Britain, Denmark, Greece, France and Slovenia in response to the Israeli announcement.

"Expanding military operations will do nothing to bring an end to this conflict," said James Kariuki, a British representative to the United Nations, adding, "This is not a path to resolution; it is a path to more bloodshed."

He called for Hamas to disarm; for more aid to enter Gaza; and for the Palestinian Authority, which administers part of the West Bank, to have a role in the future governance of the enclave, a position Israel's security Cabinet rejected Friday when it laid out five principles for ending the war.

Britain's positions were echoed by representatives of several member states. France also called for a "temporary international stabilizing force" to ensure security in Gaza. Russia's representative accused the United States of giving Israel "carte blanche" to defy international law.

Representatives from the United States and Israel stood alone in rejecting condemnation of the Netanyahu government's plan in their addresses, blaming Hamas for civilian suffering and accusing nations that have recently pledged to recognize a Palestinian state of undermining ceasefire negotiations that had been taking place and rewarding the militant group's actions.

Riyad Mansour, the representative for the state of Palestine, which has observer status at the U.N., said he appreciated the international community's "massive reaction" to Israel's plan but called for real action. "Send an immediate international protection force to save the Palestinian people from certain death," he said.

Late Sunday, Netanyahu's office said in a brief statement that the prime minister had spoken with President Donald Trump about plans "for taking control of the remaining Hamas strongholds in Gaza" to end the war. The statement provided no details about the discussion but thanked the American leader for "his steadfast support."

For Israelis and Palestinians alike, Netanyahu's argument that Israeli forces needed to invade Hamas' final strongholds was almost painfully familiar. In February 2024, Netanyahu identified another city in Gaza -- Rafah -- as "Hamas' last bastion." At the time, he said victory was "within reach."

The war has continued almost unabated since then, killing more than 60,000 people in Gaza in total, according to local health officials, who do not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Hamas triggered the fighting Oct. 7, 2023, with a massive attack that killed about 1,200 people and saw 250 taken hostage back to Gaza.

Asked about who might rule Gaza after Hamas' defeat, Netanyahu said it would be neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority. But he declined to say who might step into the vacuum, adding that it was too soon to tell.

"No one's going to go in there unless we finish Hamas," he said.

Hamas, in a statement Sunday responding to Netanyahu's briefing, rejected his assertion that Israel does not want to occupy Gaza, calling it "merely a deception to conceal his plans for forced displacement."

Relatives of the hostages and of victims of the Hamas-led October 2023 attack have called on Israeli businesses and workers to go on strike Aug. 17, aiming to shut down the economy to protest the Cabinet decision.

But some hard-line members of Netanyahu's governing coalition lashed out against the planned military offensive, saying it was too timid to decisively rout Hamas.

Bezalel Smotrich, Israel's hard-line finance minister, said in a video statement Saturday night that he did not support the decision. He called on Netanyahu to reconvene the security Cabinet and pledge to go for a "sharp, clear path" to a decisive victory over Hamas with "no more stops in the middle."

The comments by Smotrich could again threaten the stability of Netanyahu's fragile coalition government. Smotrich and another right-wing minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, have vowed to quit if Netanyahu relents on his tough line on Gaza and Hamas.

Smotrich said Netanyahu had assured him of "a dramatic plan" to defeat Hamas by means of a "lightning-fast military victory."

But Netanyahu had done an "about-face," he said, and along with the Cabinet had "decided once again to do more of the same: launching a military operation that is not aimed at resolving the issue." Instead, Smotrich added, the new plan's objective was to pressure Hamas to agree to a partial deal that would usher in a temporary ceasefire and see hostages being held in Gaza exchanged for Palestinian prisoners in Israel.

The Cabinet set a deadline of Oct. 7 for the military to complete the evacuation southward of the hundreds of thousands of Palestinian residents of Gaza City, before any military push into the city, according to an Israeli official speaking on the condition of anonymity to share details of the confidential discussion.

It will also take time for the military to call up enough reserve forces to carry out the mission, and the details of the plan could still change.

The risk for Netanyahu is that his latest plan could cost the lives of many more Palestinians and Israeli soldiers, while also endangering the 20 hostages believed to still be alive.

Smotrich said that if Hamas agreed to a deal, Israel would "retreat once again" and allow the militant group to recover and to rearm. He stopped short of saying he would resign but said he had "lost faith" in Netanyahu.

But although Ben-Gvir, the leader of another far-right party Netanyahu relies on for support, is as far right as Smotrich, he praised Netanyahu's plan to conquer all of Gaza City, saying it would displace 1 million Palestinians.