Israel has no choice but to expand its Gaza offensive, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at a press conference ahead of a meeting of the UN Security Council.

Netanyahu said 70-75 percent of the Gaza Strip is under Israeli military control, but Hamas has two other strongholds in the region. On Friday, the Israeli security cabinet ordered the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to “dismantle” these strongholds, one of which is located in Gaza City.

Liberate Gaza

The prime minister, who has been indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity, including starving Palestinians in Gaza, says Israel is not occupying Gaza, but liberating it from Hamas rule. Netanyahu says the Palestinians in Gaza also want this.

He also criticized the international press, which he said was broadcasting Hamas propaganda by blaming Israel for the famine in the Gaza Strip - we wrote more about the famine and its development here. According to Netanyahu, the famine is not caused by the Israeli blockade, which has affected almost all humanitarian shipments, but by Hamas.

He also said that Hamas, not Israeli soldiers, is responsible for the Palestinian casualties linked to the operations of the GHF, which has an Israeli-American background and has long been the sole aid-distributing organization.

Although relatives of several hostages held by Hamas have condemned the Israeli government's war plan, Netanyahu said the only way to free the hostages is to take active action."A war of attrition will not free them," he said.

Netanyahu said that if Israel “surrendered to Hamas” in exchange for the hostages, Hamas would be able to reorganize itself. The prime minister said that several options had been considered for establishing a new, transitional authority for Gaza. “We do not want to stay in Gaza,” he said, adding that his goal was to eliminate Hamas from Gaza. (via BBC)