The Palestinian Foreign Ministry on Friday accused Israel of turning its war in Gaza into a campaign of “extermination and forced displacement,” after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government approved a plan for the military to seize Gaza City.
Calling the move a “dangerous and illegal escalation,” the ministry warned it would bring “certain death” to civilians still trapped in the devastated enclave.
It announced a diplomatic drive to press foreign governments and institutions to “assume their legal, political and moral responsibilities” and stop Israel’s advance.
The announcement came hours after Netanyahu’s Security Cabinet endorsed his proposal for Israeli troops to take control of Gaza’s largest city under a plan to “defeat” Hamas.
His office said the army would operate in combat zones while delivering humanitarian aid to civilians elsewhere, stressing the goal was not to govern Gaza permanently but to hand it over to “Arab forces” once Hamas was dismantled.
Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer branded the plan “wrong” and warned it would “only bring more bloodshed,” urging Israel to instead agree to a cease-fire, free hostages and increase aid deliveries.
U.N. rights chief Volker Türk called for the “immediate halt” of what he described as a complete military takeover of occupied territory.
In Israel, the Hostage and Missing Families Forum – representing relatives of the remaining captives – accused the government of “abandoning the hostages” for political aims. Opposition leader Yair Lapid called the move “a disaster that will lead to many other disasters,” arguing it would cost Israeli lives, drain public funds and deepen diplomatic isolation.
Türkiye’s Foreign Ministry warned that the decision dealt “a heavy blow to peace and security,” and accused Israel of trying to forcibly expel Palestinians from their land.
The offensive comes nearly two years into a war that began after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, incursion, which killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel and saw 251 hostages taken.
Israel says 50 captives remain in Gaza.
Hamas, on the other hand, has released recent videos showing emaciated hostages, warning they face the same starvation as Gaza’s civilians.
According to Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry – figures widely cited by the U.N. – more than 61,200 Palestinians have been killed since the war began.
The enclave’s food crisis has spiraled into famine, with the World Health Organization (WHO) reporting at least 99 deaths from malnutrition this year.
Aid agencies say Gaza needs 600 trucks of relief daily, but just 70 to 80 are entering under Israeli control.
Israel’s military says it already holds about 75% of Gaza, but Gaza City remains a key population center, home to hundreds of thousands of displaced people and a likely site of underground hostage sites.
Military chiefs reportedly cautioned Netanyahu that further urban combat could kill hostages, cost soldiers’ lives and strain an already stretched army.
Despite mounting international pressure – including from close allies – Netanyahu insists more military pressure is needed to destroy Hamas and secure hostage releases.
He has rejected claims of famine and blamed Hamas for civilian suffering, saying the group hides in civilian areas and hoards aid.
Hamas countered Friday that Netanyahu’s plan proves his “desire to get rid of the captives” and pursue an “extremist ideological agenda” at the expense of both Palestinian and Israeli lives.
