Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he wants Israel to take full control over the Gaza Strip, but not to govern the enclave.
“We intend to, in order to assure our security, remove Hamas there, enable the population to be free of Gaza and pass it to civilian governance that is not Hamas and not anyone advocating the destruction of Israel,” Netanyahu said in an interview with Fox News.
Israel has been at war with Hamas since the group launched a surprise attack on Oct. 7, 2023, killing more than 1,200 people and taking hundreds of hostages.
In response, Israel launched a sweeping military campaign in Gaza. In May, Netanyahu announced that Israeli forces had killed Hamas Gaza chief Mohammed Sinwar.
But the ongoing operation has come at a high cost. Thousands of Palestinian civilians have been killed during the war. Netanyahu says Israel does not target civilians, claiming Hamas uses them as human shields.
Israel currently controls about 75% of Gaza. While Netanyahu wants to expand that control, he emphasized he does not want Israel to govern the territory long-term.
“We don't want to be there as a governing body,” he said. “We want to hand it over to Arab forces that will govern it properly without threatening us and giving Gazans a good life.”
Netanyahu’s plan faces criticism from the international community and from many families of Israeli hostages, who are calling for an end to the war. On Thursday, some families sailed toward the Gaza border in protest.
The father of hostage Nimrod Cohen accused Netanyahu of prioritizing political survival.
“You know, he’s playing a double game,” Cohen said. “On the one hand, he’s saying we’re doing everything to get the hostages back; on the other hand, he’s satisfying the extremists in the government.”
Netanyahu is meeting with his security cabinet on Thursday to discuss expanding operations.
