Israel鈥檚 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chairs a cabinet meeting at the Kirya military base, which houses the Israeli Ministry of Defence, in Tel Aviv on December 24, 2023. (Photo by Ohad Zwigenberg / POOL / AFP)
Palestinian Territories聽鈥斅營sraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted peace can only be achieved in Gaza if Hamas is destroyed, the territory demilitarized and Palestinian society 鈥渄eradicalized鈥�, after warning the war is set to intensify.
The declarations came as the World Health Organization on Monday reported 鈥渉arrowing鈥� accounts of entire families killed from Christmas Eve strikes on a refugee camp in Gaza.
Relentless Israeli strikes have devastated the Palestinian territory and the conflict has heightened tensions across the Middle East, with global pressure for a ceasefire mounting.
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But in an op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal on Monday night, Netanyahu vowed to stay the course.
鈥淗amas must be destroyed, Gaza must be demilitarised, and Palestinian society must be deradicalised. These are the three prerequisites for peace between Israel and its Palestinian neighbours in Gaza,鈥� Netanyahu said.
He said demilitarisation 鈥渨ill require establishing a temporary security zone on the perimeter鈥� of the territory.
鈥淔or the foreseeable future Israel will have to retain overriding security responsibility over Gaza,鈥� he said.
Earlier on Monday Netanyahu visited Gaza, telling a meeting of his Likud party after his return: 鈥淲e鈥檙e not stopping鈥�.
鈥淲e鈥檙e intensifying the fighting in the coming days,鈥� he said, according to a party statement.
鈥楬arrowing accounts鈥�
The war in Gaza erupted when Palestinian militants broke through the militarised border and attacked southern Israel on October 7, killing about 1,140 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.
Fighters also seized about 250 hostages, Israel says.
Israel vowed to crush Hamas in response, and launched a retaliatory military campaign including extensive aerial bombardment and a siege of the territory. The campaign has killed at least 20,674 people, mostly women and children, according to Gaza鈥檚 Hamas-run health ministry.
On Monday, some residents of Al-Maghazi refugee camp returned to the ruins of their homes after strikes the previous day that Gaza鈥檚 health ministry said killed at least 70 people. AFP was unable to independently verify that toll.
Zeyad Awad said there was no evacuation warning before the strikes.
鈥淲hat should we do? We are civilians, living peacefully and wanting only safety and security,鈥� he said.
鈥淵et we are suddenly struck by Israeli warplanes without any warning.鈥�
WHO staff visited a hospital treating victims of the Al-Maghazi strikes.
The 鈥渢eam heard harrowing accounts shared by health workers and victims鈥�, the UN health agency鈥檚 chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on social media.
鈥淥ne child had lost their whole family in the strike on the camp. A nurse at the hospital suffered the same loss,鈥� he added.
Sean Casey, a WHO emergency medical teams coordinator who joined the mission to the hospital, described the fate of a nine-year-old being treated who was expected to die.
鈥淗e was crossing the street in front of the shelter where his family is staying and the building beside him blew up,鈥� he said.
The Israeli army said it was 鈥渞eviewing the incident鈥�, adding it was 鈥渃ommitted to international law including taking feasible steps to minimise harm to civilians鈥�.
鈥楻eal hunger鈥�
Vast areas of Gaza lie in ruins and its 2.4 million people are enduring dire shortages of water, food, fuel and medicine, alleviated only by the limited arrival of aid trucks.
Grasping empty containers, dozens of Gazans waited on a street in Rafah, in southern Gaza, for food to be distributed.
鈥淣ow there is real hunger. My children are dying of hunger,鈥� said one of them, Nour Ismail.
An estimated 1.9 million Gazans have been displaced, according to the UN, many fleeing south and crowded into shelters or makeshift tents in the winter cold.
鈥淎 humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza is the only way forward,鈥� said the head of the UN refugee agency, Filippo Grandi.
In Monday鈥檚 Likud meeting, Netanyahu said he was ready to support the voluntary migration of civilians out of the Gaza Strip, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported.
He reportedly told party members 鈥渙ur problem is not whether to allow an exit, but that there will be countries that are willing to absorb an exit鈥�.
Hamas rejected any discussion of such a plan as 鈥渁bsurd鈥�.
Palestinians 鈥渞efuse to be deported and displaced. There can鈥檛 be exile and there is no other choice than to remain on our land鈥�, it said in a statement.
鈥楩ree our hostages鈥�
Netanyahu also addressed parliament on Monday during a special session about the 129 hostages Israel says remain in Gaza. He was booed by families awaiting their loved ones鈥� return after 80 days in captivity.
鈥淣ow! Now!鈥� relatives chanted as Netanyahu said Israeli forces needed 鈥渕ore time鈥� to increase military pressure on Hamas, which he argued would help to secure the captives鈥� release.
The number of Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza has risen to 158, with an army spokesman announcing two more deaths early Tuesday morning.
Meanwhile, fears of regional escalation only increased Monday.
Iran鈥檚 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said an Israeli air strike in Syria had killed Razi Moussavi, who state media described as 鈥渙ne of the most experienced advisers鈥� of the military force鈥檚 foreign arm.
There was no immediate comment from Israel, which has intensified strikes on targets in Syria since the Israel-Hamas war began.
Yemen鈥檚 Huthi rebels, also Iran-backed, have fired at cargo vessels in the Red Sea, leading the United States to build a naval taskforce to deter the missile and drone strikes.