Netanyahu orders Israeli military to expand Gaza occupation to 70%

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has given directives for the Israeli military to expand occupation of Gaza to 70 percent for now, as his cabinet minister has confirmed the regime’s plan for ethnic cleansing in the strip.

“At this point, we are fully in control of 60 percent of the territory of the Gaza Strip … and my directive is to get to … 70 percent,” Netanyahu said at the Jordan Valley Conference in the occupied West Bank on Thursday.

As one audience member called for the occupation of “100 percent” of Gaza, Netanyahu said that “We're going in order,” suggesting this was the long-term goal of his regime. “First 70 percent,” he said. “We'll start with that.”

Last week, Netanyahu publicly acknowledged reports that the Israeli forces currently occupies 60 percent of Gaza, significantly more than the 53 percent allowed under the terms of last year’s ceasefire with Hamas.

Ministers in Netanyahu's cabinet have declared that they want to completely occupy Gaza and expel its nearly two million Palestinian inhabitants to pave way for illegal Israeli settlement in the strip.

Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza has killed more than 72,700 Palestinians and wounded over 172,000 others since October 7, 2023.

A US-backed ceasefire announced in October was intended to halt the war and facilitate the entry of aid, food, fuel, and medicine into Gaza. However with implicit US support, Israel has been largely maintaining the blockade, leaving humanitarian conditions catastrophic in the densely populated besieged strip.

Meanwhile, Israeli airstrikes and shelling have continued, killing hundreds of Palestinians since the ceasefire.

Katz confirms goal of ethnic cleansing of Gaza

On Wednesday, Israel’s minister of military affairs said he is committed to the ethnic cleansing of Gaza through large-scale forced displacement of Palestinians as part of Israel’s long-term plots for the territory.

In a statement, Israel Katz said the Zionist regime would implement a plan for large numbers of Palestinians to leave Gaza “at the right time and in the right manner”.

The plan violates the ceasefire plan for Gaza, which Israel signed last year. The second point of the plan states: “Gaza will be redeveloped for the benefit of the people of Gaza, who have suffered more than enough.”

The forced displacement of civilian populations is a war crime and a crime against humanity. Israeli officials, including Katz, use the term “voluntary migration” to describe their plans for the ethnic cleansing of the strip.

Israel-based human rights organizations and lawyers have warned that the conditions Israel has imposed on Gaza mean no departure can be considered voluntary and the policy constitutes planning for ethnic cleansing.

“Creating living conditions that do not allow for survival, freedom and dignity, and subjecting civilians to them until they say they want to leave is not a plan for ‘encouraging voluntary emigration’ but a plan for forced evacuation and expulsion,” the Association for Civil Rights in Israel said last year.

UN blacklists Israel for sexual violence in conflict zones: Envoy

The United Nations has reportedly added Israeli entities to its blacklist of offenders responsible for sexual violence in conflict zones.

Gazans mourn 10 killed in Eid attacks

On Thursday, dozens of Palestinians in Gaza City gathered for funeral prayers for 10 people killed in Israeli attacks the night before, including five children and an elderly person.

The strikes took place on the first day of Eid al-Adha, or the “Feast of Sacrifice,” an Islamic holiday celebrated by millions of Muslims worldwide. Over 20 people were wounded in the attacks, according to Shifa Hospital.

Mohammed Shawish, who was injured and lost his wife in the attacks, broke down in tears as he held her body at the hospital morgue, saying, “I married my wife for love. For God’s sake, I chose her because of love.”

Among those killed was Hamas resistance fighter Imad Isleim. On Thursday, mourners carried his body wrapped in a white shroud with a Hamas flag draped over it.

Since the fragile ceasefire came into effect last October, 922 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza and 2,786 others injured, according to the health ministry in the strip.

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