'Israel Has No Choice But To Finish The Job, Complete Hamas Defeat': Netanyahu Defends Plan To Take Over Gaza City
Netanyahu defended Israel's Gaza plan, aiming to eliminate Hamas and establish security control, denying occupation. His five-point plan includes Hamas disarmament, hostage release, and demilitarisation.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday defended his government’s recently approved military plan to take over Gaza City, describing it as “the best way to end the war” and eliminate Hamas. Speaking at a press conference for foreign media in Jerusalem, Netanyahu stressed that Israel’s goal is not occupation but “to free Gaza from Hamas terrorists” while maintaining “overriding security responsibility.”
Netanyahu’s Five-Point Plan for ‘The Day After’
Opening the briefing, Netanyahu said he had come “to puncture the lies and tell the truth,” claiming that “Hamas still has thousands of armed terrorists in Gaza” and is determined to repeat the 7 October attacks. He told journalists that many Gazans “are begging us, they’re begging the world: Free us. Free us and free Gaza from Hamas”, Times of Israel reported.
Outlining his postwar vision, the Israeli leader listed his “five principles” for ending the conflict: “One, Hamas disarmed. Second, all hostages freed. Third, Gaza demilitarised. Fourth, Israel has overriding security control. And five, non-Israeli peaceful civilian administration.” He also ruled out the Palestinian Authority, accusing it of promoting terrorism.
Our goal is not to occupy Gaza. Our goal is to free Gaza from Hamas terrorists.
— Benjamin Netanyahu - בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) August 10, 2025
Watch my Press conference with foreign media >> pic.twitter.com/42hP6399nN
“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 remarked.
“Our goal is not to occupy Gaza. Our goal is to free Gaza, free it from Hamas terrorists,” Netanyahu reiterated, as quoted by Times of Israel. “The war can end tomorrow if Hamas lays down its arms and releases all the remaining hostages”.
Netanyahu On Humanitarian Concerns: 'If We Had A Starvation Policy, No One In Gaza Would Have Survived'
Netanyahu told the media that Israel now controls 70–75 per cent of Gaza but must dismantle two remaining Hamas strongholds in Gaza City and the central Mawasi camps. He said the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) had been instructed “to dismantle the two remaining Hamas strongholds in Gaza City and the central camps,” adding that the operation would start by moving civilians to safe zones where they would receive food, water, and medical care.
Responding to allegations of a starvation policy, Netanyahu insisted: “If we had a starvation policy, no one in Gaza would have survived after two years of war. But our policy has been the exact opposite”, Times of Israel reported. He claimed Israel has let in “close to 2 million tons of aid” since the war began, blaming Hamas for looting supplies and the United Nations for failing to distribute them.
Netanyahu added that he had “ordered directly the military to bring in foreign journalists, more foreign journalists – a lot” to witness aid efforts and operations against Hamas, noting that the US aligns with Israel’s goals. He cited US President Donald Trump as saying, “all 20 hostages have to be released” and “Hamas should not be there”.
Rising Civilian Deaths In Gaza and Hunger Crisis
The humanitarian toll continues to mount. According to Gaza hospitals and witnesses cited by Associated Press, at least 26 Palestinians were killed on Sunday while attempting to collect aid. Fifteen died near the Morag corridor between Rafah and Khan Younis, six were killed near the Zikim crossing in northern Gaza, and four were reported dead in central Gaza, where witnesses claimed Israeli gunfire hit aid-seekers. The IDF denied any incidents near central Gaza aid sites.
Separate airstrikes killed seven people — three near Gaza City’s fishermen’s port and four, including two children, in Khan Younis, according to local hospitals.
Gaza’s Health Ministry reported that two more children died on Saturday from malnutrition-related causes, bringing the total number of children who have died from hunger to 100 since the start of the war. Hunger-related deaths among adults have reached 117 since late June. The ministry’s total war death count stands at 61,400, with roughly half being women and children.
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