The Israeli government’s plan for a full-scale military takeover of Gaza will cause more deaths and suffering and must be halted immediately, the United Nations Human Rights Chief Volker Turk said.
The plan runs contrary to the ruling of the International Court of Justice that Israel must bring its occupation to an end as soon as possible, to the realisation of the agreed two-state solution and to the right of Palestinians to self-determination, Mr Turk said in a statement.
Israel’s political-security cabinet approved a plan this morning to take control of Gaza City, as the country expands its military operations despite intensifying criticism at home and abroad over the devastating almost two-year-old war.
“On all evidence to date, this further escalation will result in more massive forced displacement, more killing, more unbearable suffering, senseless destruction and atrocity crimes,” Mr Turk said.
“Instead of intensifying this war, the Israeli Government should put all its efforts into saving the lives of Gaza’s civilians by allowing the full, unfettered flow of humanitarian aid. The hostages must be immediately and unconditionally released by Palestinian armed groups.”
Far-right allies in Mr Netanyahu’s coalition had been pushing for a total takeover of Gaza as part of his vow to eradicate Hamas militants, though the military has warned this could endanger the lives of remaining hostages held by the group.
‘Ceasefire now’ – Von der Leyen
Meanwhile, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has called on Israel to reverse its plan to further extend the military’s control over the Palestinian territory of Gaza.
“The Israeli government’s decision to further extend its military operation in Gaza must be reconsidered,” she said on X.
She also urged the release of all hostages and “immediate and unhindered access” to humanitarian aid.
“A ceasefire is needed now,” von der Leyen said.
The bloc has struggled to take action over the conflict in Gaza as it is split between staunch supporters of Israel – like Germany – and those more favourable to the Palestinians, such as Spain.
The EU’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas last month put forward a raft of options to punish Israel after it was found guilty of breaching a cooperation deal with the EU on human rights grounds.
Brussels has since proposed suspending Israel’s access to EU funding for tech start-ups, which member states have yet to approve.
The European Union also struck a deal last month to increase aid access to Gaza, but senior officials have said that it has been only partially implemented.
Germany dramatically changed course when it said that it would halt the export of military equipment to Israel which could be used in Gaza.
Meanwhile, Belgium announced on the same day that it was summoning the Israeli ambassador to express its “total disapproval” of Israel’s plans to take military control of Gaza.
The tone appears also to be shifting in Brussels.
European Commission Vice President Teresa Ribera said that Israel’s approach “looks very much” like a genocide, in comments to the Politico portal published yesterday, referring to people starving, displaced and killed in war-torn Gaza.
Occupation ‘illegal under international law’
In 2024, the International Court of Justice ruled Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories is illegal under international law.
The WHO has said around 12,000 children under five are suffering from acute malnutrition, while at least 99 people have died from malnutrition since the start of the year.
More than 60,000 people have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 2023, according figures provided by health officials in the enclave and deemed reliable by the UN.
Mr Netanyahu’s office said in a statement the military “will prepare to take control of Gaza City while providing humanitarian aid to the civilian population outside the combat zones”.
While Mr Netanyahu said Israel intended to take military control of all of Gaza, the plan approved focused specifically on sprawling Gaza City, the territory’s largest urban centre, located in its north.
In a statement, Hamas called Mr Netanyahu’s moves “a blatant coup” against the negotiation process.
Hamas also described Israel’s plan as a “war crime”, adding that the Israeli government “does not care about the fate of its hostages”.
Israeli media have said 900,000 people now live in Gaza City, which has been the focus of major ground and air attacks.
Asked if Israel, whose forces say they already hold about 75% of the occupied Palestinian territory, would occupy all of it, Mr Netanyahu told Fox News Channel’s Bill Hemmer in an interview yesterday: “We intend to.”
He said Israel did not want to keep the territory, but to establish a “security perimeter” and to hand over the territory to Arab forces to govern it.
He did not elaborate on the governance arrangements or which Arab countries could be involved.
Mr Netanyahu, who has said there will be no end to the war until Hamas is completely destroyed, has come under pressure from Israelis to do whatever it takes to bring home hostages held by the militant group, though many want the war to stop.
‘Death sentence to all the hostages’
“Well, basically, I think it’s a death sentence to all the hostages that are still being held there. And it’s the wrong decision to do it at this time,” said Danny Bukovsky, a hotelier in Tel Aviv.
There are 50 hostages still held in Gaza, of whom Israeli officials believe 20 are alive.
Most of those freed so far emerged as a result of diplomatic negotiations.
Talks toward a ceasefire that could have seen more hostages released collapsed in July.
Amjad Iraqi, senior analyst at International Crisis Group, said that Israel’s government believes the solution is to “be more aggressive in carving Gaza’s geography and demographics” because it has faced no real consequences despite an international outcry.
“It’s no wonder Israel is ready to do the same to the strip’s de facto capital, even amid a spiral into famine,” said Mr Iraqi.
A global hunger monitor has said a famine scenario is unfolding in densely populated Gaza, where nearly all the territory’s more than 2 million people have been displaced, often repeatedly.
