Netanyahu says Israel intends to occupy Gaza

WASHINGTON

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Israel intends to occupy the Gaza Strip to establish a future civilian administration free of Hamas' influence.

“We intend to (take control of Gaza) in order to assure our security, remove Hamas there, enable the population to be free ... and to pass it to civilian governance that is not Hamas and not anyone advocating the destruction of Israel,” Netanyahu said when asked during an interview with FOX News whether Israel will take control of Gaza.

He said the goal is not to permanently govern the enclave but to remove Hamas and allow for a different local administration, supported by regional Arab partners.

Asked whether Israel would reoccupy the entire 26-mile territory, as it did before its 2005 withdrawal, Netanyahu responded: “We don't want to keep it. We want to have a security perimeter.”

“We don't want to be there as a governing body. We want to hand it over to Arab forces that will govern it properly without threatening us and giving the Gazans a good life,” he added.

Israel has been facing mounting outrage for its destructive war on Gaza, where more than 61,100 victims have been killed since October 2023. The military campaign has devastated the enclave.

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.