Netanyahu says he will create buffer zone on Gaza’s border with Israel, and ‘non-Israeli civilian administration’ to run enclave
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed Sunday that his army will occupy Gaza City “fairly quickly,” alleging that he wants a “civil administration” in the Palestinian enclave.
“The timeline that we set for the action is fairly quickly,” Netanyahu told a press conference when asked about his plan for the occupation of Gaza City.
“We've done a great deal. We have about 70 to 75% of Gaza under Israeli control, but we have two remaining strongholds,” he said, “Gaza City and the central camps in the Al-Mawasi” in southern Gaza.
On Friday, Israel’s Security Cabinet approved Netanyahu’s plan to occupy Gaza City fully, drawing sharp international backlash from governments and human rights bodies.
The Israeli premier claimed that his plan aims to disarm Hamas, free all Israeli hostages, demilitarize Gaza, override Israeli security control, and establish a non-Israeli civil administration.
He said the plan includes the creation of a buffer zone on Gaza’s border with Israel, and “a non-Israeli civilian administration” to run the enclave.
Netanyahu claimed that the planned administration will be run by third parties, “not Hamas or the Palestinian Authority,” without giving further details.
Israel has kept all Gaza crossings closed since March 2, blocking aid convoys despite hundreds of trucks waiting at the border. Only small amounts have been allowed in, far below the level needed to avert famine.
The World Food Program says one-third of Gaza’s population has gone several days without eating, calling the situation “unprecedented” in its levels of hunger and desperation. The UN estimates hundreds of aid trucks must enter daily to end the famine caused by the blockade and war.
Israel has been facing mounting outrage over its deadly war on Gaza, where more than 61,400 people have been killed since October 2023. The military campaign has devastated the enclave and brought it to the verge of famine.
Last month, Israeli rights groups B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, citing the systematic destruction of Palestinian society and the deliberate dismantling of the territory’s health care system.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
