UN warns against Gaza takeover plan

Rejecting a possible Israeli plan to expand military operations through the entire Gaza Strip, a United Nations representative stressed that Gaza is part of a future State of Palestine, while former Israeli officials voiced objection to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's takeover plan.

"International law is clear in this regard — Gaza is and must remain an integral part of the future Palestinian state," Miroslav Jenca, the UN's assistant secretary-general for Europe, Central Asia and the Americas, told the Security Council in New York on Tuesday.

The Israeli plan on Gaza "would risk catastrophic consequences for millions of Palestinians and could further endanger the lives of the remaining hostages in Gaza", he said.

Israel's Channel 12, citing an official from Netanyahu's office, said the prime minister was leaning toward taking control of the entire Gaza. That would reverse a 2005 decision to withdraw Israeli citizens and soldiers from the besieged enclave. Netanyahu is likely to seek its approval at a key Cabinet meeting on Thursday.

At the UN session, Jenca said there is no military solution to the fighting in Gaza or the broader Israel-Palestine conflict.

The UN has favored a sustainable two-state solution. Jenca said this would mean "Israel and a fully independent, democratic, contiguous, viable and sovereign Palestinian State — of which Gaza is an integral part — living side by side in peace and security within secure and recognized borders, on the basis of the pre-1967 lines, with Jerusalem as the capital of both States".

"Hunger is everywhere in Gaza, visible in the faces of children and in the desperation of parents risking their lives to access the most basic supplies," he said. He again echoed UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' condemnation of the continuing violence in Gaza, including the shooting, killing and injuring of people trying to get food.

"The situation in Gaza is horrifying — it is unbearable," he said, adding that Palestinians are subjected to "squalid, inhumane conditions on a daily basis".

More than 60,000 Palestinians have been killed since the conflict began, local health authorities said. "Since the end of May, over 1,200 Palestinians have been killed and over 8,100 injured while trying to access food supplies, including in the vicinity of militarized aid distribution sites," Jenca said.

War of starvation

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said on Tuesday that Gaza's population is experiencing systematic genocide.

"The war in Gaza is no longer merely a war to achieve political goals or release hostages," he said. "It has long since surpassed any logic or justification, and has become a war of starvation and genocide. There is systematic genocide to eradicate the Palestinian cause."

Algeria's Ambassador to the UN Amar Bendjama told the Security Council on Tuesday that Israel is legally required to allow aid into Gaza as "famine thresholds have been crossed".

"Let me be clear, humanitarian access is a legal obligation under the Geneva Conventions. It is not a favor. It is not negotiable. It cannot be used as a bargaining chip in exchange for those held in captivity," he said.

Inside Israel, voices are increasing for an end to the nearly 22-month military assault in Gaza. Among those speaking out were former leaders of Israel's Shin Bet internal security service, Mossad spy agency and the military — and also former prime minister Ehud Barak.

In a video posted on social media, they said far-right members of the government are holding Israel "hostage" in prolonging the conflict.

Netanyahu's objectives in Gaza are "a fantasy", said Yoram Cohen, former head of the Shin Bet, in the video. "If anyone imagines that we can reach every terrorist and every pit and every weapon, and in parallel bring our hostages home — I think it is impossible."

United States President Donald Trump, asked by a reporter on Tuesday, declined to say whether he supported or opposed the potential military takeover. "I know that we are there now trying to get people fed," he said. "As far as the rest of it, I really can't say. That's going to be pretty much up to Israel."

Israel's offensive in Gaza has also caused a hunger crisis, internally displaced nearly the entire population and led to accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice and of war crimes at the International Criminal Court.

Agencies contributed to this story.

cuihaipei@chinadaily.com.cn