Israel's army "will prepare to take control of Gaza City", Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has said in a statement issued on Friday (August 8). While doing so, it will distribute humanitarian assistance to the civilian population outside combat zones, it added.
As Israel’s security cabinet convened on Thursday night, Mr Netanyahu said he planned to fully occupy Gaza, but he did not intend to govern it. The Israeli prime minister told Fox News that a full occupation would be the only way to ensure Israel’s security and wipe out Hamas. He added Israel did not want "to keep" the Gaza Strip, and that he would prefer to hand the Palestinian territory to "Arab forces that will govern it properly without threatening us and giving Gazans a good life. "That’s not possible with Hamas."
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the Israeli government’s decision to "further escalate its offensive" and take over Gaza City "is wrong, and we urge it to reconsider immediately".
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