4 hours ago
Last Updated:May 19, 2025, 15:01 IST
Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to take full control of Gaza as the military escalates its ground and air operations against Hamas.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Photo: AP)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday said his country would take control of the whole of Gaza, as the military pressed a newly intensified campaign in the war-ravaged territory.
Netanyahu also said it was necessary to prevent a famine for “diplomatic reasons", after Israel announced it would let a “basic amount" of food into the Gaza Strip.
“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 on Telegram.
“We will not give up. But in order to succeed, we must act in a way that cannot be stopped," he said.
The Israeli military announced it had begun “extensive ground operations" against Hamas, as air strikes killed at least 22 people there.
Israel has come under mounting international pressure, including from key backer the United States, to lift a total blockade it imposed on Gaza more than two months ago.
“We must not let the population (of Gaza) sink into famine, both for practical and diplomatic reasons," Netanyahu said, adding that even friends of Israel would not tolerate “images of mass starvation".
In a report this month, the UN- and NGO-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification said Gaza was at “critical risk of famine", with 22 percent of the population facing an imminent humanitarian “catastrophe".
Location : First Published:News world 'Will Take Control Of All Of Gaza': Netanyahu Amid Israel's Military Operations Against Hamas
