Israel 'playing hunger games' in Gaza - as Netanyahu's cabinet to discuss 'full occupation' plan

Gantz accuses Israeli ministers of 'security recklessness of the highest order'

A former member of Benjamin Netanyahu's war cabinet has hit out at ministers over their "unrestrained attacks" against the chief of staff of the Israel Defence Forces (see 11.00 post).

Israeli opposition politician Benny Gantz said the comments reflected "security recklessness of the highest order".

"In the state of Israel, the chief of staff is subordinate to the political echelon, as it has always been and will be, but he is not a puppet on a string or a rubber stamp," Gantz wrote in a post on X.

"Instead of threatening and whining, perhaps it's worth internalising: the problem lies with the political echelon, not the military one."

Gantz resigned from Netanyahu's emergency government in June and accused Israel's prime minister of "preventing real victory" over Hamas.

He called on the Netanyahu to set an election date as he was making "total victory impossible", while also saying the government must put the return of the hostages seized by Hamas "above political survival".

Netanyahu helping to reduce tensions between Trump and Putin - report

As the war in Gaza rages on, Benjamin Netanyahu is using his ties to Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin to help reduce tensions between the leaders, sources close to the Israeli prime minister have told the Kan public broadcaster.

It comes after Trump said he had ordered two nuclear submarines to be moved to "the appropriate regions" in response to remarks from former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev about the risk of war between the nuclear-armed powers.

The Kremlin has since played down the significance of the US president's comments, saying the submarines are already on combat duty.

Trump threatened new sanctions on Russia if progress to end the war in Ukraine hasn't been made by his self-imposed 10-day deadline, which is due to expire on Friday.

Aid dropped into Gaza

As has become a theme over recent days, we've just received these pictures showing aid being dropped into Gaza by parachutes.

While a number of countries have been dropping aid into Gaza, humanitarian organisations say it is not enough to significantly improve the dire situation.

Earlier, the secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council accused Israel of playing "hunger games" with its "chaotic" delivery of aid (see 8.12 post).

Gaza takeover 'the only option that guarantees defeating Hamas', former IDF chief says

A Gaza takeover is the "only option that guarantees defeating Hamas", a former Israel Defence Forces chief has said.

Yosef Kupperwasser, a former head of the IDF military intelligence research division, told Sky presenter Darren McCaffrey that "all of the options are problematic".

"The only option that at least guarantees that we are going to get one of the goals that we have put forward for this war, which is defeating Hamas and removing it from power in Gaza... can be achieved only through taking over the entire Gaza Strip and removing it from power by force," he said.

"There's still a debate inside the government if this can be done in stages or whether we should do it in one move. But it seems that this is the only option that would make us reach this goal."

Kupperwasser admitted that although the military is capable of such a move, it's "not going to be easy" after 22 months of war.

Israeli defence minister says IDF will 'professionally implement' ministers' decisions on Gaza plan

Israel's defence minister has said the country's military will "professionally implement" decisions made by ministers on achieving Benjamin Netanyahu's war goals.

Speaking during a visit to an IDF post in the Gaza buffer zone, Israel Katz said he has "formulated his position regarding the security and political steps Israel must take to ensure the achievement of the war's objectives".

"We must ensure the safety and security of Israeli communities by maintaining a permanent IDF presence in a peripheral security zone at strategic points in Gaza, from which attacks on communities and the smuggling of weapons into Gaza can be prevented," he said.

"Once the political leadership makes the necessary decisions, the military echelon, as it has done in all fronts of war so far, will professionally implement the determined policy."

Katz was addressing reports suggesting the IDF's chief of staff Lt Gen Eyal Zamir opposes Netanyahu's proposed occupation of Gaza.

Full occupation of Gaza brings major strategic and moral risk and could massively backfire

One thing is now painfully clear: Israel's war in Gaza is sliding into a forever war.

With ceasefire negotiations having collapsed, multiple reports in the Israeli media suggest that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is now seeking cabinet approval to fully occupy the Gaza Strip.

Currently, the IDF controls approximately 75% of the territory. But under the new plan, the military would advance into the remaining areas.

It is a move that's reportedly opposed by senior military leaders who fear the long-term costs of total occupation.

We already have a sense of what such an occupation would look like.

The Gaza Strip would be further chopped and sliced into militarised zones, patrolled by Israeli forces. Palestinians would be confined to tightly controlled enclaves, with limited movement, constant surveillance, and highly restricted access to humanitarian aid.

For Netanyahu, the political logic may seem compelling.

Public outrage over images of skeletal Israeli hostages has presented an opportunity to reassert his security credentials, which were significantly damaged after the catastrophic events of October 7, that occurred under his watch.

With elections on the horizon - not imminent but soon enough - Netanyahu is under pressure. A dramatic military move may offer him a short term narrative of strength and control.

But full occupation of Gaza brings major strategic and moral risk and could massively backfire. There's no guarantee it will create new leverage in stalled negotiations, nor is it likely to advance what's now being floated as a comprehensive peace deal.

In fact, the opposite is more probable. 

The occupation could entrench the conflict even further, triggering a long-term insurgency in which Gazans suffer even more and Israeli soldiers become perpetual targets of guerrilla attacks.

Protracted urban warfare amid Gaza's ruins would require tens of thousands of troops and carry the likelihood of significant Israeli casualties.

The military is already stretched thin. An expanded operation would only deepen reservist fatigue and public weariness.

Then there's the grave risk to hostages.

Military operations in areas where they may be held could endanger their lives even further. And this would likely sharpen the deep divides in Israeli society.

Protests against the war are already widespread and appear to be growing. The unity that existed in the war's early days has been replaced by distrust and outrage.

Internationally, Israel faces mounting criticism and increasing diplomatic isolation.

Netanyahu may be in denial about how his actions are perceived globally, but the optics of a full occupation, built on the rubble of the already staggering destruction and displacement in Gaza, will only intensify global condemnation.

Almost 100 killed by strikes in Gaza in past 24 hours, ministry says

The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says 87 people have been killed and 644 injured by Israeli strikes over the past 24 hours in the enclave.

A number of victims remain under the rubble and on roads, with ambulance and civil defence crews unable to reach them, it added.

In total, the health ministry says, 61,020 people have been killed since the war began on 7 October 2023. Its figures do not differentiate between civilians and fighters.

Gaza authorities also say that 188 Palestinians, including 94 children, have died from hunger since the war began.

Internal Israeli tensions over whether to escalate Gaza military action

Ahead of Benjamin Netanyahu's limited meeting of security officials (see 9.46 post), internal tensions are brewing over whether to escalate military action in Gaza.

Israeli foreign minister Gideon Sa'ar has defended the Israel Defence Forces chief of staff Lt Gen Eyal Zamir, saying he is "convinced" he will clearly express his professional opinion at the meeting.

It comes after the country's national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir said the IDF chief must obey the orders even if he disagrees with them.

"The chief of staff is required to state clearly that he will fully comply with the directives of the political echelon, even if a decision is made for conquest and decisive action," he wrote in a post on X.

Surgeon who recently returned from Gaza says 'there's virtually no infrastructure left'

Victoria Rose, a British consultant plastic surgeon who recently returned from Khan Younis, has told Al Jazeera "there's virtually no infrastructure left".

"I think 69% of all buildings in Gaza have been destroyed and 94% of all hospitals have been completely or partially destroyed," she said.

Rose said starvation in Gaza has an "absolutely huge" toll on those trying to recover from injuries.

"The pictures that we are seeing now are showing very late stage malnutrition which is basically unrevivable from," she added.

"Couple with the fact that aid is not getting in in any form - so not only are we not seeing adequate food supplies, we are not seeing adequate medical supplies and certainly when we were there in June we did not have the antibiotics that we required to fight these sort of infections - so it compounds the problem."

Protest over Gaza hunger crisis outside Trump hotel in New York

We can bring you more pictures of protests over the war in Gaza, this time from New York.

The demonstration was held outside the Trump International Hotel against the hunger crisis in Gaza.

People held placards and wore shirts featuring writing which read "stop starving Gaza".

Netanyahu to hold limited security meeting today

We've been reporting that Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to hold a security cabinet meeting as he seeks approval for his apparent plan on the full occupation of Gaza (see 6.32 post).

Israeli television network Channel 12 is reporting that Netanyahu will convene a limited meeting of security officials today.

The country's defence minister and strategic affairs minister are set to attend, as well as the Israeli Defence Forces chief of staff and operations directorate.

The network adds that the military's chief of staff will present the Israeli prime minister with several options for continuing the war in Gaza.

Finalising a plan to present to a broader cabinet meeting later this week is reportedly the aim of today's meeting.

Gaza war is to 'save Netanyahu from day of reckoning', former Israeli PM says

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak says the war in Gaza has been "a war of deception" over the past several months.

Barak was Israel's prime minister from 1999 to 2001 and is now the leader of a party he founded - the Israel Democratic Party.

Benjamin Netanyahu, on the other hand, is part of the right-wing Likud party.

Speaking to chief presenter Mark Austin, Barak said: "It's nothing to do with the security in Israel, and it has nothing to do with the future of the hostages.

"It's basically a war to hold together the coalition and to save Netanyahu from the day of reckoning that will come inevitably when the war stops, when these criminal court cases of corruption will be accelerated. 

"Basically, it's totally unjustified."

Gaza aid 'nowhere near what is needed', UN human rights chief says

Saving lives must be everyone's priority in Gaza, the United Nations' human rights chief Volker Turk has said.

He described the pictures of people starving in Gaza as "heart-rending and intolerable".

"Israel continues to restrict severely humanitarian assistance from entering Gaza, and the aid that is permitted to enter is nowhere near what is needed," he said. 

"Israel must immediately allow and facilitate rapid and unimpeded passage of sufficient amounts of humanitarian relief for civilians in need to avert further unnecessary suffering and loss of life. 

"Denying civilians access to food may amount to a war crime, as well as potentially a crime against humanity."

Turk described the videos of emaciated Israeli hostages as "shocking" and said he is "appalled by their humiliating treatment".

"They should be allowed immediate assistance by the International Committee of the Red Cross," he added.

"I have repeated, time and again, that the hostages and all those arbitrarily detained must be immediately and unconditionally released. 

"All those deprived of liberty must be treated humanely and never be used as bargaining chips."

Rubio holds talks with UK and French counterparts over Gaza

US secretary of state Marco Rubio has spoken to his UK and French counterparts about Gaza as diplomatic efforts to end the war go on.

He discussed efforts to reach a ceasefire with David Lammy as well as the efforts to return hostages.

The pair also held talks on the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

While Rubio held similar talks with Jean-Noel Barrot, they also discussed the situation in Iran.

Rubio and Barrot both reaffirmed their commitment to ensuring Iran must never develop of buy a nuclear weapon.

'These are hunger games': Refugee council chief accuses Israel of 'chaotic' aid deliveries

The aid getting into Gaza is "too little, too late" for Palestinians, the head of the Norwegian Refugee Council has told Sky News.

Speaking to presenter Kamali Melbourne, Jan Egeland said there are a "few more trucks"heading into Gaza alongside "very photogenic air drops that provide very little".

"They are all providing aid in a very chaotic way," he added.

Egeland explained that a system had been in place to deliver food "in the hands of the people" but went on to accuse Israel of creating a system of "utter chaos".

"These are hunger games really," he said. "Run, try to get something, grab it because there's too little to carry and to distribute."

Egeland said Benjamin Netanyahu's reported plan to occupy Gaza (see 6.32 post) "would mean much more bloodshed".

"The only way of getting [hostages] out is through negotiations," he added.

"That's the way they have got the hostages out before, it's not by continuing this senseless warfare again."

Israel intercepts missile from Yemen

Israel's military says it intercepted a missile from Yemen in the early hours of this morning after air raid sirens sounded across the country.

The move was later confirmed by the Houthis' military spokesperson Yahya Saree.

The group has been firing at Israel and targeting shipping lanes in what it describes as acts of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

Most of the missiles and drones have either been intercepted or fallen short, while Israel has carried out retaliatory strikes.

-SKY NEWS