"After 22 months of bloody fighting," said one Israeli commentator, "it seems that Netanyahu has just one objective in the war in Gaza, to prolong the war."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to the press after meeting with U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on July 8, 2025.
(Photo: Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)
Julia Conley
Aug 05, 2025
COMMON DREAMS
One human rights expert warned Tuesday that Israel appears to be "opting for a risky and dangerous" ongoing strategy in Gaza after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed earlier reports that his Cabinet is moving forward with plans to fully occupy the strip for the first time in two decades.
In a video address posted on the social media platform X, Netanyahu claimed Palestinians in Gaza have asked Israel to help them "be free of Hamas," and said, "That's what we will do."
"We're committing to free Gaza from the tyranny of these terrorists," Netanyahu said.
The prime minister was reportedly set to meet with his ministers on Tuesday to finalize the strategy going forward, which would include conducting military operations in central areas where hostages are believed to be held—something Israel has previously avoided.
Israeli Army Radio reported they would discuss carrying out airstrikes and ground raids, surrounding refugee camps in central Gaza and parts of southern Gaza where more than 2 million Palestinians have been forced to relocate.
"The die has been cast. We're going for the full conquest of the Gaza Strip—and defeating Hamas," a senior official was quoted as saying in Israeli media reports.
Netanyahu will reportedly meet with Defense Minister Israel Katz and Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, who previously disagreed with the prime minister's plan to force all Palestinians in Gaza into a concentration camp in Rafah—a proposal Zamir said was "unworkable."
One official in Netanyahu's Cabinet said of Zamir on Monday, "If [the takeover plan] doesn't work for the chief of staff, he should resign."
Netanyahu's confirmation that his government is aiming to fully occupy Gaza, 75% of which the IDF has said is now under Israeli control, comes after mediated talks between Hamas and Israel on a cease-fire and hostage deal broke down, and as hundreds of retired Israeli security and intelligence officials sent a letter to U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday urging him to pressure Netanyahu to end the war in Gaza.
The former officials said Hamas "no longer poses a strategic threat to Israel" and warned that further military action in Gaza would be futile.
Recent polls show 3 in 4 Israelis support a cease-fire to ensure the return of hostages, 20 of whom are believed to be alive in Gaza, and the families of people taken captive by Hamas on October 7, 2023 reportedly fear that Israel's takeover of Gaza could endanger their loved ones.
"The best way for the hostages to be freed alive is through Israeli negotiations with Hamas, but Netanyahu seems to be opting for a risky and dangerous military option instead," said Kenneth Roth, former executive director of Human Rights Watch.
In response to the reports of Israel's plan for a full takeover, Israeli commentator Nahum Barnea wrote in the newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth that "after 22 months of bloody fighting... it seems that Netanyahu has just one objective in the war in Gaza, to prolong the war."
As The New York Times reported last month, Netanyahu has taken numerous steps since Israel began bombarding Gaza and blocking aid for more than 2 million civilians in retaliation for Hamas' attack in 2023, including slowing cease-fire talks even as breakthroughs appeared imminent, continuing the offensive against top generals' advice in 2024, and breaking a two-month truce in March—all while the prime minister has faced criminal corruption charges.
After Netanyahu's government voted Monday to dismiss Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, who is prosecuting the prime minister—a vote that was quickly blocked by Israel's High Court of Justice—Center for International Policy senior fellow Sina Toossi said Netanyahu's actions since Israel began its assault have signified "him clinging to power in dictatorial fashion."
From the time Israeli officials first reported on Monday that Netanyahu would seek the full occupation of Gaza to the time the prime minister's meeting with his Cabinet members was reported a day later, eight more Palestinians died of starvation or malnutrition and another 79 were killed in IDF attacks, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.
In Netanyahu's video address, he repeated claims—recently debunked by IDF officials—that Hamas has been stealing aid provided to Palestinians by Israel.
Nearly 200 Palestinians, including at least 94 children, have been starved by Israel's near-total blockade since October 2023. Israel has killed at least 61,020 Palestinians and injured at least 150,671.
In recent weeks, amid growing international outrage over images of starving Palestinians and Israel's denial that it is targeting civilians with its blockade, France announced it was joining the vast majority of United Nations member countries in recognizing Palestinian statehood, and other close U.S. allies including the United Kingdom and Canada said they could soon do the same.
Senior Netanyahu Official: 'We Are Moving to Occupy' Entire Gaza Strip
"This is a monumental mistake, both morally and strategically," said one Israeli critic. "This will not bring our hostages home, only endanger them further."
An Israel Defense Forces tank takes up position along Israel's southern border with the northern Gaza Strip, Palestine on March 19, 2025.
(Photo: Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images)
Brett Wilkins
Aug 04, 2025
COMMON DREAMS
In what one peace group described as "a direct assault on international law," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided to fully occupy the Gaza Strip, at least one senior member of Israel's government told multiple media outlets on Monday.
"We are moving to occupy the strip—the decision has been made," an unidentified "senior official in Netanyahu's office" told Israel's Channel 12. "Hamas will not release more hostages without complete surrender, and we will not surrender. If we do not act now, the hostages will die of starvation—and Gaza will remain under Hamas control."
A person described as "a source in the prime minister's office" told The Jerusalem Post that Netanyahu—who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes in Gaza—has reached a decision to fully occupy Gaza.
The Israeli news site Ynet cited "senior officials" in "Netanyahu's circle" as saying, "The die is cast, we are going for a full occupation of the Gaza Strip."
Responding to the news, Israeli author Hen Mazzig said on the Bluesky social network: "This is a monumental mistake, both morally and strategically. This will not bring our hostages home, only endanger them further."
German journalist Claas Gefroi wrote on Bluesky: "It's so clear. Netanyahu wants an endless war, a permanent state of emergency—and thus many more years in power."
On Monday, Israel's High Court of Justice issued an injunction blocking Netanyahu, who is in the midst of a domestic criminal corruption trial, from firing Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, who is prosecuting him.
After nearly 22 months of fighting a war whose stated purpose is the defeat of Hamas and the return of all Israeli and other hostages taken on October 7, 2023, Hamas remains undefeated and 20 hostages are believed to be alive inside Gaza.
Meanwhile, Israel's 667-day assault and siege on Gaza has left more than 220,000 Palestinians dead, maimed, or missing and at least hundreds of thousands more starving through a famine that's killed at least 181 people, over half of them children, according to local officials.
Multiple Israeli hostages also appear to be starving in recently released images. The Palestine Chronicle reported Monday that Abu Obeida, spokesperson for the Al-Qassam Brigades—Hamas' military wing—said that "prisoners are not deliberately starved, they eat what our fighters and our people eat."
Hamas responded to Monday's reports by saying that "Israel's threats are repetitive, worthless, and have no influence on our decisions," according to The Jerusalem Post.
The Virginia-based peace group World Beyond War said on social media that "Netanyahu's decision to fully occupy Gaza is a direct assault on international law."
"The world must reject endless military domination and demand recognition of Palestine as a sovereign state—its people as full citizens with rights, dignity, and safety," the group added.
More and more nations have been moving to formally recognize Palestinian statehood. Last month, France became the first Group of Seven member to announce it will officially recognize Palestine. Last week, Canada said it would also do so, with conditions attached, and the United Kingdom threatened recognition if Israel does not take "substantive steps" to end its obliteration of Gaza.
Although the Israel Defense Forces are winding down Operation Gideon's Chariots, the campaign to occupy all of Gaza and expel its Palestinians—possibly to make way for Jewish recolonization—without achieving any of the mission's objectives, observers note that Israel is still seeking to ethnically cleanse the strip. It is doing so through forced starvation, one of the alleged crimes for which Netanyahu is wanted by the ICC. Israel's weaponized starvation is also cited in the South Africa-led genocide case against currently before the International Court of Justice.
In March, Israel's Security Cabinet created a new Defense Ministry directorate tasked with the euphemistically described "voluntary emigration" of Palestinians. Defense Minister Israel Katz said the new agency would be run "in accordance with the vision of U.S President Donald Trump," who earlier this year said that the United States would "take over" Gaza after emptying the strip of its more than 2 million Palestinians and transform the coastal enclave into the "Riviera of the Middle East."
Channel 12 reported Monday that IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir recently pitched occupying all of Gaza as an alternative to a plan favored by Netanyahu to force Palestinians into a concentration camp—he calls it a "humanitarian city"—to be built over the ruins of the southern city of Rafah. Zamir has reportedly dismissed the "humanitarian city" as "unworkable."
Echoing international law and voices like U.N. Palestine expert Francesca Albanese, Palestinian-Canadian neuroscientist Afif Aqrabawi noted Monday on social media that "Gaza is already occupied."
"This new move isn't some shift—it's just the next phase of extermination," he added.
Aug 04, 2025
COMMON DREAMS
In what one peace group described as "a direct assault on international law," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided to fully occupy the Gaza Strip, at least one senior member of Israel's government told multiple media outlets on Monday.
"We are moving to occupy the strip—the decision has been made," an unidentified "senior official in Netanyahu's office" told Israel's Channel 12. "Hamas will not release more hostages without complete surrender, and we will not surrender. If we do not act now, the hostages will die of starvation—and Gaza will remain under Hamas control."
A person described as "a source in the prime minister's office" told The Jerusalem Post that Netanyahu—who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes in Gaza—has reached a decision to fully occupy Gaza.
The Israeli news site Ynet cited "senior officials" in "Netanyahu's circle" as saying, "The die is cast, we are going for a full occupation of the Gaza Strip."
Responding to the news, Israeli author Hen Mazzig said on the Bluesky social network: "This is a monumental mistake, both morally and strategically. This will not bring our hostages home, only endanger them further."
German journalist Claas Gefroi wrote on Bluesky: "It's so clear. Netanyahu wants an endless war, a permanent state of emergency—and thus many more years in power."
On Monday, Israel's High Court of Justice issued an injunction blocking Netanyahu, who is in the midst of a domestic criminal corruption trial, from firing Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, who is prosecuting him.
After nearly 22 months of fighting a war whose stated purpose is the defeat of Hamas and the return of all Israeli and other hostages taken on October 7, 2023, Hamas remains undefeated and 20 hostages are believed to be alive inside Gaza.
Meanwhile, Israel's 667-day assault and siege on Gaza has left more than 220,000 Palestinians dead, maimed, or missing and at least hundreds of thousands more starving through a famine that's killed at least 181 people, over half of them children, according to local officials.
Multiple Israeli hostages also appear to be starving in recently released images. The Palestine Chronicle reported Monday that Abu Obeida, spokesperson for the Al-Qassam Brigades—Hamas' military wing—said that "prisoners are not deliberately starved, they eat what our fighters and our people eat."
Hamas responded to Monday's reports by saying that "Israel's threats are repetitive, worthless, and have no influence on our decisions," according to The Jerusalem Post.
The Virginia-based peace group World Beyond War said on social media that "Netanyahu's decision to fully occupy Gaza is a direct assault on international law."
"The world must reject endless military domination and demand recognition of Palestine as a sovereign state—its people as full citizens with rights, dignity, and safety," the group added.
More and more nations have been moving to formally recognize Palestinian statehood. Last month, France became the first Group of Seven member to announce it will officially recognize Palestine. Last week, Canada said it would also do so, with conditions attached, and the United Kingdom threatened recognition if Israel does not take "substantive steps" to end its obliteration of Gaza.
Although the Israel Defense Forces are winding down Operation Gideon's Chariots, the campaign to occupy all of Gaza and expel its Palestinians—possibly to make way for Jewish recolonization—without achieving any of the mission's objectives, observers note that Israel is still seeking to ethnically cleanse the strip. It is doing so through forced starvation, one of the alleged crimes for which Netanyahu is wanted by the ICC. Israel's weaponized starvation is also cited in the South Africa-led genocide case against currently before the International Court of Justice.
In March, Israel's Security Cabinet created a new Defense Ministry directorate tasked with the euphemistically described "voluntary emigration" of Palestinians. Defense Minister Israel Katz said the new agency would be run "in accordance with the vision of U.S President Donald Trump," who earlier this year said that the United States would "take over" Gaza after emptying the strip of its more than 2 million Palestinians and transform the coastal enclave into the "Riviera of the Middle East."
Channel 12 reported Monday that IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir recently pitched occupying all of Gaza as an alternative to a plan favored by Netanyahu to force Palestinians into a concentration camp—he calls it a "humanitarian city"—to be built over the ruins of the southern city of Rafah. Zamir has reportedly dismissed the "humanitarian city" as "unworkable."
Echoing international law and voices like U.N. Palestine expert Francesca Albanese, Palestinian-Canadian neuroscientist Afif Aqrabawi noted Monday on social media that "Gaza is already occupied."
"This new move isn't some shift—it's just the next phase of extermination," he added.
600+ Journalists Renew Call to Let Foreign Press Enter Gaza as Israel Begins 'Full Conquest'
"When governments can unilaterally shut down access to war zones," the petitioners warn, "they undermine the very foundation of democracy: press freedom as a check on power."
Anadolu Agency freelance journalist Ahmed Jihad Ibrahim Al-arini continues his work in Gaza to document the humanitarian crisis faced by displaced Palestinians and their struggle to obtain food in Gaza Strip on July 25, 2025.
(Photo: Abdalhkem Abu Riash/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Stephen Prager
Aug 05, 2025
Aug 05, 2025
COMMON DREAMS
As Israel prepares for a full occupation of Gaza, foreign journalists have renewed calls to be allowed into the besieged strip.
More than 600 journalists and media organizations have signed a petition released Monday by Freedom to Report (FTR) demanding "immediate, unsupervised foreign press access" to Gaza, which they said is "the worst press blackout in modern conflict."
"This is not a call to be heard," said the renowned war photographer André Liohn, FTR's founder. "We demand that independent, professional journalists be allowed into Gaza. What's happening today is not only a humanitarian blackout but also an information blackout, and it must end."
Among the signatories are journalists from several of the world's largest news organizations, including CNN, ABC, The Guardian, Channel 4, and Sky News, with many of these organizations also signing similar joint statements.
Top names in news media, including CNN anchors Anderson Cooper and Christine Amanpour, Channel 4 international editor Lindsey Hilsum, and Zeteo founder Mehdi Hasan have also signed on in support.
Since Israel began its assault on Gaza in October 2023, its military has closed off access from outside journalists seeking to independently observe the conflict.
The few who have been granted access, from outlets like The Associated Press or the BBC, have been taken on heavily manicured tours led by the Israeli military without freedom of movement. As The Times of Israel reported:
These visits are typically brief, highly curated, and prohibit any free interaction with Palestinian civilians—drawing criticism from press advocates who argue they fall short of true journalistic independence.
"When governments can unilaterally shut down access to war zones," the petitioners warn, "they undermine the very foundation of democracy: press freedom as a check on power."
Reporting on the true horrors on the ground in Gaza has been left almost totally up to journalists inside the strip, who have been routinely targeted by the Israeli military.
As of April, at least 232 journalists had been killed in Gaza since the military onslaught began—13 per month on average. More journalists have died in Gaza than in both world wars, the Vietnam War, the wars in Yugoslavia, and the United States war in Afghanistan combined.
The petition lauds the perseverance of journalists in Gaza, saying that "despite unimaginable danger, loss, and now starvation, they continue to document the war with extraordinary courage and professionalism."
However, "while honoring the extraordinary courage of Palestinian journalists reporting under siege," the petitioners said, "international access is critical to provide a full, independent account of the war, and to support those risking everything to report from within."
The urgent call comes as Israel begins a new phase of the genocidal war, which has an official death toll of over 60,000 but has likely killed far more people who are unaccounted for.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's war cabinet confirmed to the press that Israel was moving forward with "the full conquest of the Gaza Strip," which Palestinian-Canadian neuroscientist Afif Aqrabawi called "the next phase of extermination."
"What's happening in Gaza today reveals a far broader crisis: the erosion of press freedom as a pillar of democracy," the petition said. "The people most directly affected are not only the millions of civilians in Gaza enduring war beyond public scrutiny, but also global citizens everywhere whose right to receive free and independent information is being denied."
In recent weeks, Gaza has become increasingly gripped by mass starvation because of Israel's near-total blockade of humanitarian aid. More than a thousand of those attempting to obtain the meager amounts of aid that have been allowed to enter the strip have been gunned down by soldiers at U.S.-Israeli administered sites.
Israel has attempted to deny these reports, but they have been confirmed by IDF whistleblowers, who have used the international press to tell the truth about the atrocities they have witnessed and debunk talking points the Israeli military has used to justify its actions.
"As disinformation spreads and propaganda dominates, independent, on-the-ground reporting becomes more essential than ever," the petition said. "This is not activism, it is journalism, and it is urgent."
More than 600 journalists and media organizations have signed a petition released Monday by Freedom to Report (FTR) demanding "immediate, unsupervised foreign press access" to Gaza, which they said is "the worst press blackout in modern conflict."
"This is not a call to be heard," said the renowned war photographer André Liohn, FTR's founder. "We demand that independent, professional journalists be allowed into Gaza. What's happening today is not only a humanitarian blackout but also an information blackout, and it must end."
Among the signatories are journalists from several of the world's largest news organizations, including CNN, ABC, The Guardian, Channel 4, and Sky News, with many of these organizations also signing similar joint statements.
Top names in news media, including CNN anchors Anderson Cooper and Christine Amanpour, Channel 4 international editor Lindsey Hilsum, and Zeteo founder Mehdi Hasan have also signed on in support.
Since Israel began its assault on Gaza in October 2023, its military has closed off access from outside journalists seeking to independently observe the conflict.
The few who have been granted access, from outlets like The Associated Press or the BBC, have been taken on heavily manicured tours led by the Israeli military without freedom of movement. As The Times of Israel reported:
These visits are typically brief, highly curated, and prohibit any free interaction with Palestinian civilians—drawing criticism from press advocates who argue they fall short of true journalistic independence.
"When governments can unilaterally shut down access to war zones," the petitioners warn, "they undermine the very foundation of democracy: press freedom as a check on power."
Reporting on the true horrors on the ground in Gaza has been left almost totally up to journalists inside the strip, who have been routinely targeted by the Israeli military.
As of April, at least 232 journalists had been killed in Gaza since the military onslaught began—13 per month on average. More journalists have died in Gaza than in both world wars, the Vietnam War, the wars in Yugoslavia, and the United States war in Afghanistan combined.
The petition lauds the perseverance of journalists in Gaza, saying that "despite unimaginable danger, loss, and now starvation, they continue to document the war with extraordinary courage and professionalism."
However, "while honoring the extraordinary courage of Palestinian journalists reporting under siege," the petitioners said, "international access is critical to provide a full, independent account of the war, and to support those risking everything to report from within."
The urgent call comes as Israel begins a new phase of the genocidal war, which has an official death toll of over 60,000 but has likely killed far more people who are unaccounted for.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's war cabinet confirmed to the press that Israel was moving forward with "the full conquest of the Gaza Strip," which Palestinian-Canadian neuroscientist Afif Aqrabawi called "the next phase of extermination."
"What's happening in Gaza today reveals a far broader crisis: the erosion of press freedom as a pillar of democracy," the petition said. "The people most directly affected are not only the millions of civilians in Gaza enduring war beyond public scrutiny, but also global citizens everywhere whose right to receive free and independent information is being denied."
In recent weeks, Gaza has become increasingly gripped by mass starvation because of Israel's near-total blockade of humanitarian aid. More than a thousand of those attempting to obtain the meager amounts of aid that have been allowed to enter the strip have been gunned down by soldiers at U.S.-Israeli administered sites.
Israel has attempted to deny these reports, but they have been confirmed by IDF whistleblowers, who have used the international press to tell the truth about the atrocities they have witnessed and debunk talking points the Israeli military has used to justify its actions.
"As disinformation spreads and propaganda dominates, independent, on-the-ground reporting becomes more essential than ever," the petition said. "This is not activism, it is journalism, and it is urgent."
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