05/19/2025May 19, 2025
Netanyahu says Israel will ‘take control’ of entire Gaza Strip
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will take control of the entire , as the military escalated its offensive in the territory.
“The fighting is intense, and we are making progress. We will take control of all the territory of the Strip,” Netanyahu said in a video posted to his Telegram channel.
“We will not give up. But, in order to succeed, we must act in a way that cannot be stopped.”
Netanyahu said the aim was to have an area entirely controlled by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) where the entire civilian population of Gaza could receive the aid, with Hamas receiving nothing.
“This is part of defeating Hamas, in parallel with the tremendous military pressure, our massive entry, to essentially take over all of Gaza and strip Hamas of all ability to plunder humanitarian aid. This is the war and victory plan.”
Gaza’s Hamas-controlled Health Ministry on Sunday said at least 3,193 people have been killed since Israel resumed its strikes on March 18, bringing the total death toll in the war to 53,339.
Hamas’ October 2023 attack, which triggered the ongoing war, killed 1,218 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians.
Hamas is classified as a terrorist organization by many countries, including the United States, Israel and Germany.
The post Middle East: Israel allows Gaza aid for ‘diplomatic reasons’ appeared first on Deutsche Welle.
