Israel Will ‘Take Control of All’ of Gaza, PM Says

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that Israel will "take control" of the whole of Gaza, as the military pressed a newly intensified campaign in the war-ravaged territory.

After Israel announced it would let a "basic amount" of food into the Gaza Strip, Netanyahu said it was necessary to prevent a famine for "diplomatic reasons".

In Gaza, rescuers said air strikes killed at least 22 people, after the military announced it had begun "extensive ground operations" against Hamas.

"The fighting is intense and we are making progress. We will take control of all the territory of the Strip," Netanyahu said in a video posted on Telegram.

"We will not give up. But in order to succeed, we must act in a way that cannot be stopped."

Israel has come under mounting international pressure, including from key backer the United States, to lift a total blockade it imposed on Gaza more than two months ago.

"We must not let the population (of Gaza) sink into famine, both for practical and diplomatic reasons," Netanyahu said, adding that even friends of Israel would not tolerate "images of mass starvation".

In a report this month, the UN- and NGO-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification said Gaza was at "critical risk of famine", with 22 percent of the population facing an imminent humanitarian "catastrophe".

- 'Reduced to starvation' -

Israel said its blockade since March 2 was aimed at forcing concessions from the Palestinian group, but UN agencies have warned of critical shortages of food, clean water, fuel and medicines.

Last week US President Donald Trump acknowledged that "a lot of people are starving", adding "we're going to get that taken care of".

In his inaugural mass, Pope Leo XIV called on the faithful not to forget "our brothers and sisters who are suffering because of war.

"In Gaza, the surviving children, families and elderly are reduced to starvation," he said.

But Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir argued against any resumption of aid, saying on X: "Mr Prime Minister, our hostages receive no humanitarian aid."

"The Prime Minister is making a serious mistake in this move, and he has no majority at all. Hamas must only be crushed, and not at the same time provided with oxygen for its survival," he said in a statement.

- No breakthrough in talks -

Israel's military on Monday said the air force had struck "160 terror targets" in Gaza over the past day, as it pressed an expanded offensive.

The campaign, which Israel says aims to free hostages and defeat Hamas, started Saturday as the two sides entered indirect talks in Qatar on a deal.

Netanyahu's office said negotiators Doha were "working to exhaust every possibility for a deal -- whether according to the Witkoff framework or as part of ending the fighting".

Steve Witkoff is the US Middle East envoy who has been involved in discussions.

Netanyahu's statement said a deal "would include the release of all the hostages, the exile of Hamas terrorists, and the disarmament of the Gaza Strip".

Since a two-month ceasefire collapsed in March as Israel resumed its offensive, negotiations mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States have failed to make a breakthrough.

Netanyahu has opposed ending the war without Hamas's total defeat, while Hamas has balked at handing over its weapons.

- 'No one left' -

On Monday, there were heavy strikes in and around the main southern city of Khan Younis, where civil defense agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal said 11 people were killed and several others wounded.

Bassal also reported another 11 deaths in strikes on other parts of the territory.

AFPTV footage from Gaza on Sunday showed people sifting through ruined shelters and rescuers treating the wounded.

"All my family members are gone. There is no one left," said a distraught Warda al-Shaer.

"The children were killed as well as their parents. My mother died too, and my niece lost her eye."

The United Nations had warned of the risk of famine in Gaza before the aid blockade was imposed.

Hamas's October 2023 attack that triggered the war resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Hamas also took 251 hostages during the attack, 57 of whom remain in Gaza, including 34 the military says are dead.

Gaza's health ministry said Sunday at least 3,193 people have been killed since Israel resumed strikes on March 18, taking the war's overall toll to 53,339.

Lebanon’s veteran Druze leader Walid Jumblatt on Thursday called on the Iran-backed Hezbollah group to hand its weapons over to the state, saying arms must be exclusively under government control.

Speaking at a news conference in Beirut, the former head of the Progressive Socialist Party said, “Weapons should only be in the hands of the Lebanese state,” adding that the Israeli-occupied Shebaa Farms, a long-disputed area on the western slopes of Mount Hermon, are Syrian territory.

Jumblatt’s appeal comes amid growing international calls for Hezbollah to disarm and for the Lebanese government to implement its longstanding pledge—reiterated in its ministerial statement and by President Joseph Aoun during his swearing-in—to ensure that only state institutions bear arms.

His remarks also come as Washington renews its push to resolve files with Syria, including border demarcation, as part of wider regional realignments.

“There’s a new chapter unfolding in the Middle East,” Jumblatt said. “If any Lebanese or non-Lebanese party possesses weapons, I hope they will hand them over to the state in a proper manner.”

He described “the most valuable weapon for future generations” as being one of “memory”—urging the country to pass down stories of resistance against Israel and its collaborators rather than stockpiles of arms.

Jumblatt said he had recently informed the president of the presence of weapons in his hometown of Mukhtara and asked the relevant security agencies to take over the matter. The arms, collected gradually since the May 2008 clashes between Hezbollah and his party, were fully handed over more than three weeks ago.

The arsenal, he said, consisted of light and medium-grade weapons that had been centrally gathered over the years.

He noted that Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri—himself a close ally of Hezbollah—remained a “friend and ally,” but added: “The issue of weapons has no bearing on Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon.”

Hezbollah has long justified its arsenal as essential to liberating the Shebaa Farms and Kfar Shouba Hills, areas Israel did not vacate during its 2000 withdrawal from south Lebanon. In recent years, the dispute has expanded to include 13 border points and the northern section of the village of Ghajar, which Israel annexed in 2022.

“Shebaa Farms are covered under UN Resolution 242. It is Syrian land occupied by Israel,” Jumblatt said.

He urged support for the Lebanese army and internal security forces, stressing that Israel still occupies territory and that several Lebanese villages remain destroyed.

He also called for the full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah.

“In this round, Israel and the West have won with US backing,” he said. “But nothing lasts forever.”

Israel Will ‘Take Control of All’ of Gaza, PM Says