Israel PM Netanyahu Says That All Of Gaza Territories Will Be Under Israel's Control By The End Of War

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his first press conference of the year said that the Gaza Strip will be under Israel’s control by the end of war, and that only 20 of the 58 remaining hostages taken by Hamas in Gaza are believed to be alive.

Israel launched a new offensive called Operation Gideon’s Chariots on May 17, for which the prime minister said that, “At the end of this campaign, all of the territories of the Gaza Strip will be under Israel’s security control,” The Guardian quoted.

Palestinians protested against Hamas for the third consecutive day in Southern Gaza, while the Israeli military yesterday issued fresh warnings for people in northern Gaza to move south, saying it would strike "any area from which rockets are launched", as per BBC.

Netanyahu also said that Israel later plans to create a “sterile zone” in Gaza, which will be free of Hamas, and the civilian population which had to relocate and evacuate because of the war can move there and receive supplies, as per AP.

Furthermore, he said that private United States companies delivering humanitarian aid would prevent a humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Israel has come under heavy international pressure to deliver aid and food to the Palestinian population amid the 11-week-long blockade of aid that ended earlier this week. 

Tom Fletcher, UN humanitarian chief, in an interview with the BBC earlier this week said that 14,000 babies in Gaza could die in the next 48 hours if aid trucks do not reach communities in Gaza. 

Israel on Monday allowed five trucks into the enclave, and 93 more trucks on Tuesday. Fletcher said that five trucks to feed a starving population of the strip is like a "drop in the ocean."

Despite the Israeli claims of finally letting food enter the Gaza strip, humanitarian workers said that no food is reaching Gazans. U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric claimed that "Israeli authorities are requiring us to offload supplies on the Palestinian side of Kerem Shalom crossing and reload them separately once they secure our team's access from inside the Gaza Strip,” as reported by Reuters. 

"Today, one of our teams waited several hours for the Israeli green light to access the Kerem Shalom area and collect the nutrition supplies. Unfortunately, they were not able to bring those supplies into our warehouse,” he added further. 

The 15-months-long war has killed 62,614 Palestinians, including 17,492 children, as per Al Jazeera.