'Will Take Control Of Whole Gaza': Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu's Big Statement Amid Intensified Military Campaign

Netanyahu further said it was necessary to prevent a famine for “diplomatic reasons", after Israel announced it would let a “basic amount" of food into the Gaza Strip.

Shashank Nair Updated: Monday, May 19, 2025, 04:25 PM IST
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu | File |

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu | File |

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday Vowed that Israel will "take control" of the whole of Gaza, as the military pressed a newly intensified campaign in the war-ravaged territory.

Netanyahu further said it was necessary to prevent a famine for “diplomatic reasons", after Israel announced it would let a “basic amount" of food into the Gaza Strip.

In Gaza, rescuers claimed air strikes killed at least 22 people, after the military announced it had begun "extensive ground operations" against Hamas.

Netanyahu in a video message posted on Telegram said, “The fighting is intense and we are making progress. We will take control of all the territory of the Strip,"

“We will not give up. But in order to succeed, we must act in a way that cannot be stopped," he said.

He further said, “We must not let the population (of Gaza) sink into famine, both for practical and diplomatic reasons," Netanyahu said, adding that even friends of Israel would not tolerate “images of mass starvation."

Israel has come under massive global pressure, including the United States, to lift a total blockade it imposed on Gaza in March.

Earlier on Sunday, Netanyahu’s office issued a statement outlining the terms for a potential ceasefire, which include the release of all hostages, the exile of Hamas leaders, and the disarmament of the Gaza Strip. “The negotiating team in Doha is currently working to explore every possible avenue for an agreement—whether under the Witkoff framework or as part of a broader end to the conflict, which would entail the return of all hostages, the removal of Hamas militants from Gaza, and the strip’s demilitarization,” the statement read.

Published on: Monday, May 19, 2025, 04:25 PM IST

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