Netanyahu Says Israel Not Looking to Occupy Gaza

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave a rare press conference to foreign media on Sunday at which he laid out Israel’s plans for the continuation of its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip and sought to dispel the “global campaign of lies” about Israel’s conduct, as criticism continues to mount after nearly two years of conflict.

He later gave a second lengthy press conference in Hebrew to local media, during he said he wanted to end the war in Gaza as soon as possible, but that his plan to expand the conflict and capture Gaza City was the only way to secure the release of all 50 hostages still held in the Strip.

Days after his cabinet approved a new major offensive in Gaza City to root out Hamas forces there, the premier denied that Israel intends to occupy Gaza. He described how a future “civilian administration” would be established in the Strip to govern Palestinians in a manner that does not threaten Israel.

As security forces and hostages’ families decry the Gaza City plan as potentially endangering the hostages’ lives, Netanyahu argued that an Israeli takeover of Gaza would in fact enable their release.

The prime minister also lashed out at foreign media for buying into Gaza starvation claims, saying the allegations were largely a “fake” Hamas campaign that the world had fallen for “hook, line and sinker.” He said the three most “celebrated” cases of ostensible Israeli-imposed starvation were all false, and gave details of each.

He also claimed the belief by some world leaders that Palestinian statehood would solve the region’s problems was “absurd,” insisting that “Palestinians are not about creating a state; they’re about destroying a state.”

And the Israeli leader charged that in imposing a partial arms embargo on Israel, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz had “buckled” under pressure from foreign and domestic groups opposing Israel.

“The War Can End Tomorrow”

Opening the first, English-language press conference at his Jerusalem office with a prepared statement, Netanyahu said he had convened it “to puncture the lies and tell the truth.”

“Our goal is not to occupy Gaza. Our goal is to free Gaza, free it from Hamas terrorists,” Netanyahu said. “The war can end tomorrow if Hamas lays down its arms and releases all the remaining hostages.”

Describing his five-point postwar vision for the Strip, Netanyahu said: “Gaza will be demilitarized; Israel will have overriding security responsibility; a security zone will be established on Gaza’s border with Israel to prevent future terrorist incursions; a civilian administration will be established in Gaza that will seek to live in peace with Israel.”

“That’s our plan. Given Hamas’s refusal to lay down its arms, Israel has no choice but to finish the job and complete the defeat of Hamas,” he said.

The Palestinian Authority is not an acceptable option for a role in post-war Gaza, Netanyahu added, accusing it of promoting terrorist activity against Israel. Later, in his Hebrew event, he said the PA ultimately shared the same goal as Hamas of destroying Israel, but sought to do so by first using international bodies such as the UN and International Criminal Court to force an Israeli retreat to “indefensible boundaries,” and then to attack.

Netanyahu said the IDF had been instructed “to dismantle the two remaining Hamas strongholds in Gaza City and the central camps.” Israel will begin the plan “by first enabling the civilian population to safely leave the combat areas to designated safe zones. In these safe zones, they’ll be given ample food, water, and medical care,” he said.

Speaking later to Israeli journalists, Netanyahu said Hamas “has raised impossible conditions — not only in our view, but also in the view of the United States,” for a deal. “They include, among other things, a complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip — including from the Philadelphi Corridor — which would allow the free smuggling of weapons; the release of imprisoned terrorists, these monsters; and a demand for binding international guarantees that would prevent the IDF from resuming combat. These are terms of surrender that no responsible government would agree to accept — and certainly I will not accept them.”

“Hamas has deceived us. Therefore, I have become convinced that the only way to return all our hostages is to defeat Hamas,” said Netanyahu.

Nonetheless, he went on, “I want to end the war as quickly as possible. That is why I have instructed the IDF to shorten the timetable for taking control of Gaza City,” he said, without elaboration, adding, “I do not intend to perpetuate Hamas — I intend to defeat Hamas… I don’t intend to leave those monsters in their place.”

He said the cabinet decision to conquer Gaza City last week “is the first step” in the push for the battlefield defeat of Hamas.”

“The minute you collapse the center of gravity [by capturing Gaza City], the last true fortress left to Hamas in Gaza, Hamas falls apart,” he argued. “I think Hamas thinks so too.”

He later acknowledged, however, that even after the Gaza City takeover, Israel will have to stage another operation to clear the central Gaza camps. He declined to elaborate, in order, he said, to avoid tipping off Hamas.

The IDF has operated in Gaza City numerous times since the beginning of the war, including a major offensive at the start of Israel’s ground operations in the Strip in late 2023 and early 2024. Troops have since returned to some of the city’s eastern and southern neighbourhoods, such as Shejaiya, Zeitoun, Daraj and Tuffah — as well as Shifa Hospital — for smaller raids against Hamas.

Around one million Palestinians are estimated to be residing in the western side of the city, where the IDF has not operated in with ground troops for many months. Hostages were also held and released from Gaza City in a deal with Hamas earlier this year.