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Israeli PM Netanyahu states Israel’s goal in Gaza is liberation from Hamas, not occupation. He envisions postwar demilitarisation and civilian administration.
A file photo of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (AP)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday insisted that Israel’s goal in Gaza is liberation from Hamas rule, not to impose a long-term occupation, as he addressed the media ahead of an emergency UN Security Council meeting.
“Gazans are begging us and begging the world to be freed from Hamas,” Netanyahu said, calling the militant group a “genocidal organisation” committed to Israel’s destruction. “No nation would put up with an entity committed to its annihilation a stone’s throw away from its border,” he added.
Netanyahu stated that the war could end if Hamas released all hostages and surrendered its weapons. He accused the group of still having “thousands of armed terrorists” in Gaza and said Israel’s military operations are focused on eliminating this threat.
Netanyahu claims people in Gaza begging Israel to ‘free us’ from Hamas‘Our goal not to occupy Gaza, our goal to free Gaza’
Says enclave to be demilitarized and security zone made on border pic.twitter.com/vFGsBIqkUY
— RT (@RT_com) August 10, 2025
Presenting his postwar vision for Gaza, Netanyahu said the territory would be demilitarised, with Israel maintaining ultimate security control. A security buffer zone will be created along the Israel-Gaza border to prevent future attacks. Gaza will have a civilian administration committed to peaceful coexistence with Israel. “That’s our plan for the day after Hamas,” he said.
He outlined the five principles to conclude the war: The disarmament of Hamas, Return of all hostages, Demilitarisation of the Gaza Strip, Israel taking “overriding security control” in the Strip, Establishment of an “alternative civil administration” that is not Hamas or the Palestinian Authority.
Given Hamas’s refusal to lay down its arms, Israel has no choice but to finish the job and complete the defeat of Hamas,” Netanyahu said.
He further vowed to “puncture the lies” surrounding Israel’s intentions in Gaza City, blasting the “global campaign of lies” around Israel’s intentions.
Netanyahu rejected allegations that Israel is intentionally starving Gaza’s population, calling the accusations “baseless.”
“If Israel had a starvation policy, no one in Gaza would still be alive after two years of war,” Netanyahu said, adding that “hundreds of trucks” with food, water, and medical supplies have entered the territory, and civilians are being directed to designated safe zones away from fighting.
“We will ensure the civilian population can leave combat areas safely, and we will provide them with the essentials, as we have done before,” he said. Netanyahu added that Israel has sent millions of text messages and made phone calls to warn residents to evacuate danger zones.
The Israeli prime minister accused the international media of uncritically accepting what he described as Hamas propaganda “hook, line, and sinker.” He dismissed reports of starvation in Gaza, comparing them to the “malignant lies” once spread about the Jewish people in the Middle Ages.
Responding to a question on US President Donald Trump’s remarks about starvation in Gaza, Netanyahu said he values Trump’s support.
He said that Trump has made two key points: that all 20 hostages must be freed and that Hamas should not remain in power, and that Trump acknowledges Hamas as the cause of deprivation in Gaza.
His comments come as the UN Security Council prepares to address Israel’s plan to expand its military presence in Gaza, amid continued international concern over the humanitarian crisis.
Meanwhile, the UN Security Council on Saturday condemned Israel’s decision to take over the Gaza Strip, saying that it “risks violating international humanitarian law,” and endangers the lives of the hostages.
The council called on Israel to “urgently reverse this decision and not to implement it,” and further argued that it would lead to a worsening of the humanitarian situation in Gaza, and speed up the hunger in the territory.
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