Netanyahu says new Gaza offensive will start soon

By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Maayan Lubell

JERUSALEM/CAIRO (Reuters) -Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he expected to complete a new Gaza offensive "fairly quickly", as the U.N. Security Council heard new demands for an end to suffering in the Palestinian enclave.

Netanyahu, speaking after his security cabinet on Friday approved a much-criticised plan to take control of Gaza City said he had no choice but to "complete the job" and defeat Hamas to free hostages seized from Israel.

He said the new Gaza offensive aimed to tackle two remaining Hamas strongholds in what he said was his only option because of the Palestinian group's refusal to lay down its arms. Hamas says it will not disarm unless an independent Palestinian state is established.

It was not clear when the offensive, which would be the latest in successive attempts by the Israeli military to clear the militants from Gaza City, would begin.

"The timeline that we set for the action is fairly quickly. We want, first of all, to enable safe zones to be established so the civilian population of Gaza City can move out," he added.

The city, home to a million people before the two-year-old war, would be moved into "safe zones", he said. Palestinians say these have not protected them from Israeli fire in the past.

Israel's military chief has voiced opposition to occupying the entire Gaza Strip and has warned that expanding the offensive could endanger the lives of hostages Hamas is still holding and draw its troops into protracted and deadly guerrilla warfare.

Netanyahu said his goal was not to occupy Gaza. "We want a security belt right next to our border, but we don't want to stay in Gaza. That's not our purpose," he said.

European representatives at the United Nations said famine was unfolding in Gaza and Israel's plan would only make things worse.

"Expanding military operations will only endanger the lives of all civilians in Gaza, including the remaining hostages, and result in further unnecessary suffering," Denmark, France, Greece, Slovenia and the United Kingdom said in a joint statement.

"This is a manmade crisis, and therefore urgent action is needed to halt starvation and to surge aid into Gaza," they said.

Malnutrition is widespread in the enclave due to what international aid agencies say is a deliberate plan by Israel to restrict aid. Israel rejects that allegation, blaming Hamas for the hunger among Palestinians and saying a lot of aid has been distributed.

The U.S. representative at the Security Council defended Netanhayu and said Washington was committed to addressing humanitarian needs, freeing the hostages and achieving peace.

Netanyahu said Israel was working with Washington on creating a surge of aid into Gaza, including by land.

STARVATION

Five more people, including two children, died of malnutrition and starvation in Gaza in the past 24 hours, Gaza's health ministry said, taking the number of deaths from such causes to 217, including 100 children.

The Hamas-run Gaza government media office said a further 23 people had been killed so far in the war by airdrops of aid which countries have resorted to due to the difficulties of getting aid in by road.

In the latest case, a parachuted aid box killed a 14-year-old boy awaiting food with other desperate Palestinians at a tent encampment in central Gaza, according to medics and video verified by Reuters.

"We have repeatedly warned of the dangers of these inhumane methods and have consistently called for the safe and sufficient delivery of aid through land crossings, especially food, infant formula, medicines, and medical supplies," it said.

Italy said Israel should heed its own army's warnings before sending more troops into Gaza, where the Israeli military already holds large parts of the territory.

"The invasion of Gaza risks turning into a Vietnam for Israeli soldiers," Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said in an interview with daily Il Messaggero.

The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel and killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostages. Israeli authorities say 20 of the remaining 50 hostages in Gaza are alive.

Israel's offensive since then has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, according to health officials, and left much of the territory in ruins.

(Reporting by Maayan Lubell, Nidal al-Mughrabi, Emily Rose, Timothy Reid and Valentina Za; Writing by Maayan Lubell and Philippa Fletcher; Editing by Hugh Lawson)