UN ambassadors have condemned Israel’s plans to “take control” of Gaza City as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted it was the “best way” to end the war.
During a press conference, which Netanyahu said was intended to “puncture the lies”, the Israeli leader said the planned offensive would move “fairly quickly” and would “free Gaza from Hamas”.
He also claimed Israeli hostages held in Gaza were “the only ones being deliberately starved” and denied Israel was starving Gazans.
Meanwhile, Israel came under heavy criticism at an emergency meeting of the United Nations (UN) Security Council, with the UK, France and others warning the plan risked “violating international humanitarian law”.
Along with Denmark, Greece and Slovenia, they called for the plan to be reversed, adding it would “do nothing to secure the return of hostages and risks further endangering their lives”.
Other council members expressed similar alarm. China called the “collective punishment” of people in Gaza unacceptable, while Russia warned against a “reckless intensification of hostilities”.
UN Assistant Secretary General Miroslav Jenca told the meeting: “If these plans are implemented, they will likely trigger another calamity in Gaza, reverberating across the region and causing further forced displacement, killings, and destruction.”
Ramesh Rajasingham from the UN’s humanitarian office said the hunger crisis in Gaza was no longer looming, adding that “this is starvation, pure and simple”.
But the United States defended Israel, with Ambassador Dorothy Shea telling the meeting the US had been working “tirelessly” to free hostages and end the war, and the meeting undermined those efforts.
She added the war “could end today if Hamas let the hostages go”, and accused other members of taking advantage of the meeting to “accuse Israel of genocide”, an allegation she insisted was “demonstrably false”.
Later on Sunday, Netanyahu’s office said he had spoken with US President Donald Trump about Israel’s plans.
Thousands of protesters have also taken to the streets across Israel to oppose the government’s plan, fearing it puts the lives of hostages at risk.
In his press conference, Netanyahu said the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had been instructed to dismantle the “two remaining Hamas strongholds” in Gaza City and a central area around al-Mawasi.
He also outlined a three-step plan to increase aid in Gaza, including designating safe corridors for humanitarian aid distribution as well as more air drops by Israeli forces and other partners.
He said the plan would also include increasing the number of safe distribution points managed by the controversial US and Israeli-backed Gazan Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
The UN reported earlier this month that 1,373 Palestinians had been killed seeking food since late May, when GHF set up aid distribution sites.
Netanyahu claimed Hamas had “violently looted the aid trucks”, and, when asked about Palestinians killed at GHF sites, said “a lot of firing was done by Hamas”.
When asked about the remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza – 20 of whom are still thought to be alive – Netanyahu said “if we don’t do anything, we are not going to get them out”.
The Israeli leader also took aim at the international press, saying it had bought into Hamas propaganda. He labelled some of the photos of malnourished children in Gaza that have run on newspaper front pages across the world as “fake”.
Throughout the war, Israel has not allowed international journalists into Gaza to report freely. But Netanyahu said a directive telling the military to bring in foreign journalists had been in place for two days.
Since Saturday, five people have died as a result of starvation and malnutrition in Gaza, bringing the total number to 217 deaths, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
It also said that in total more than 61,000 people have been killed as a result of Israel’s military campaign since 2023.
Israel launched its offensive in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October that year, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.
In the past, figures from the Hamas-run health ministry were widely used in times of conflict and seen as reliable by the UN and other international organisations.