Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday said that his country may have security responsibility of Gaza for an “indefinite period” after the war ends, ABC News reported.
This comes as the toll in Gaza crossed 10,000 on Monday with the Israeli military continuing its air strikes and ground invasion in the besieged region. The figure includes 4,104 children, The Guardian reported.
The Israeli aggression in Gaza was triggered in response to the Palestinian militant group Hamas launching a surprise attack in southern Israel, killing over 1,500 people and taking over 200 hostages.
“I think Israel will, for an indefinite period, have the overall security responsibility because we’ve seen what happens when we don’t have it,” Netanyahu told ABC News. “When we don’t have that security responsibility, what we have is the eruption of Hamas terror on a scale that we couldn’t imagine.”
On Monday, Netanyahu also told the American news channel that there will be no general ceasefire in Gaza without the hostages being released.
“As far as tactical little pauses, an hour here, an hour there,” he added. “We’ve had them before, I suppose, will check the circumstances in order to enable goods, humanitarian goods to come in, or our hostages, individual hostages to leave.”
On Friday, the United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Israel to pause its ground operations in Gaza and allow humanitarian assistance to civilians in the coastal region. White House National Security Spokesperson John Kirby had also said a day earlier that Washington is not supporting a ceasefire, but calling for a “temporary, localised” pause to send in humanitarian aid and get civilians, including hostages, out of Gaza.
On Monday, the Israeli forces announced that they had cut off northern Gaza from the rest of the besieged Palestinian territory to attack Hamas militants.
The Israeli military also continued its air strikes in Gaza, one of which targeted the Shifa hospital. The strike reportedly killed several displaced Palestinians and destroyed solar panels that were one of the key sources of electricity.
The ground battle in northern Gaza comes as several civilians remain trapped in the region.
Although Tel Aviv has said that there is a one-way corridor for residents of Gaza city and surrounding areas to move to the south, many fear aggression by Israeli forces in the path.
Gaza is becoming graveyard for children, says UN
The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday reiterated his call for humanitarian ceasefire saying that Israel’s relentless attack has turned Gaza into a “graveyard for children”.
“The unfolding catastrophe makes the need for a humanitarian ceasefire more urgent with every passing hour,” he said. “The parties to the conflict – and, indeed, the international community – face an immediate and fundamental responsibility: to stop the inhuman collective suffering and dramatically expand humanitarian aid to Gaza.”
He said that in the last two weeks over 400 trucks have crossed into Gaza, compared with 500 trucks a day before the conflict.
“And crucially, this does not include fuel,” Guterres told reporters. “Without fuel, newborn babies in incubators and patients on life support will die. Water cannot be pumped or purified. Raw sewage could soon start gushing onto the streets, further spreading disease. Trucks loaded with critical relief will be stranded.”
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