JERUSALEM (dpa-AFX) - Israel's representative has told an emergency meeting of the Security Council on the Israeli government's plan for its security forces to take control of Gaza City that his country 'has no plans or desire to permanently occupy Gaza'. Its latest decision is to liberate the Strip from a terror regime.
He cited the five clear principles that the Israeli security cabinet adopted for concluding the war: the disarming of Hamas; the return of all hostages, both living and deceased; the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip; Israeli security control in the Gaza Strip; and the establishment of a non-Israeli, peaceful civil administration governed neither by Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority.
'This is the only way to ensure a better future for Israelis and Palestinians alike,' according to Jonathan Miller, Deputy Permanent Representative for Israel to the UN.
The UN Security Council met Sunday in New York following the Israeli cabinet's decision to again expand its military operation inside the Gaza Strip and take full control of the key population center of Gaza City.
Two top UN officials warned that the Israeli cabinet's green light this week for a fresh offensive aimed at gaining total military control of Gaza City - home to around one million Palestinians - would only risk igniting 'another horrific chapter' of displacement, death and destruction.
Miroslav Jenca, Assistant Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia and the Americas, told ambassadors that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's proposed plan for 'defeating Hamas' and the establishment of an alternative civilian administration that is neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority, risked 'yet another dangerous escalation' that would destabilize the entire region.
Jenca said that according to Israeli media reports, the plan foresees the displacement of all civilians from Gaza City by October 7, affecting some 800,000 people - many previously displaced.
Reports indicate that forces would then surround the city for three months. This would reportedly then be followed by an additional two months to seize control of central Gaza's camps and clear the entire area of Palestinian armed groups.
Copyright(c) 2025 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2025 AFX News
