Netanyahu vows to proceed with Gaza City takeover plan

JERUSALEM -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that he is determined to launch a recently approved plan to take over Gaza City, which has drawn wide international condemnation.

Israel "has no choice but to finish the job and complete the defeat of Hamas," he told a press conference for foreign media in Jerusalem.

"Our goal is not to occupy Gaza, our goal is to free Gaza," he said.

Netanyahu said that even if Hamas is "completely defeated," Israel's postwar plan includes maintaining security control over the enclave and complete control over land between Gaza and Israel, where a "security zone" would be established.

Daily life in Gaza, he said, would be run by a "civilian administration" under an international entity that is neither Israel nor the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority.

He also denounced what he called a "global campaign of lies" as condemnation of the plan increased worldwide, as well as within Israel. He denied that Israel is deliberately starving Palestinians, despite evidence from photos, videos, local journalists, international physicians who have been to Gaza, United Nations experts, and human rights groups.

On Sunday, at least five more people died from famine and malnutrition, according to Gaza health authorities. The number of people killed by Israeli strikes has reached at least 61,430 since Oct. 7, 2023, the authorities added.