Israel will 'take control of all' of Gaza, PM says

This picture taken from a position in southern Israel shows Israeli tanks deployed on the border with the Gaza Strip on May 17, 2025. [AFP] 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 limited aid into Gaza, the head of the World Health Organization issued a stark warning on the humanitarian crisis in the territory, saying that "two million people are starving". On the ground, the Israeli military issued an evacuation call to Gazans in the southern city of Khan Yunis and nearby areas ahead of what it described as an "unprecedented attack". The call came after the military announced it had begun "extensive ground operations" in an expanded offensive against Hamas, and following air strikes that rescuers said killed at least 22 people on Monday. "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. Israel, earlier this month, approved plans for the expanded offensive currently underway and said it was aimed at the "conquest" of Gaza and the displacement of its people. "We will not give up. But in order to succeed, we must act in a way that cannot be stopped," said Netanyahu. Israel has come under mounting 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". Israel said its blockade since March 2 was aimed at forcing concessions from Hamas, but UN agencies have warned of critical shortages of food, clean water, fuel, and medicines. "Two million people are starving" while "tonnes of food are blocked at the border, just minutes away," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. "The risk of famine in Gaza is increasing with the deliberate withholding of humanitarian aid." Last week, US President Donald Trump acknowledged that "a lot of people are starving", adding, "we're going to get that taken care of". 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." But Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, also of the far right, defended the decision to allow a "bare minimum" of aid in, stressing none would be allowed to reach Hamas. "This will allow civilians to eat and our friends in the world to keep giving us diplomatic protection," he said. Israel's military on Monday said the air force had struck "160 terror targets" in Gaza over the past day. On Monday, there were heavy strikes in and around the main southern city of Khan Yunis, where civil defence agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal said 11 people were killed and several others wounded. Bassal reported another 11 deaths in strikes elsewhere. In a post on Telegram, the Israeli military's Arab-language spokesman Avichay Adraee called on Gazans in Khan Yunis and nearby areas to "evacuate immediately". "From this moment, Khan Yunis will be considered a dangerous combat zone," he said. AFPTV footage from Khan Yunis showed a helicopter over the city and a vehicle carrying wounded people to a hospital. Among those being treated at Nasser Hospital was a young boy in a tracksuit, while two other boys, both barefoot and bleeding, sat on the floor. "It felt like the apocalypse. There was gunfire coming from every apartment, fire belts, F-16 warplanes, and helicopters firing," Gaza resident Mohammed Sarhan told AFP in Khan Yunis. Further north in Deir el-Balah, Ayman Badwan mourned the loss of his brother. "In short, we are exhausted and drained -- we can't take it anymore. Words fail to describe what we're going through," he told AFP. "Enough is enough. A solution must be found, and the world must intervene." 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 that at least 3,193 people have been killed since Israel resumed strikes on March 18, taking the war's overall toll to 53,339.

Israel will 'take control of all' of Gaza, PM says

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