Israeli PM says army to seize remaining Hamas strongholds in Gaza

JERUSALEM, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday the military had been ordered to enter the "decisive stage" of the Gaza war, aimed at seizing the remaining Hamas strongholds in Gaza City, refugee camps in central Gaza and the southern area of Al Mawasi.

He made the remarks in a press conference amid growing criticism around the world and within Israel over a security cabinet decision on Thursday to take over Gaza City.

According to figures presented by Netanyahu, since Israel resumed its assaults in the Gaza Strip in March, the military has taken control of about 70 percent of Gaza.

He said that following the security cabinet decision, the army was instructed to begin the operation in Gaza City.

A map he presented showed the ground campaign would target Gaza City, refugee camps in central Gaza and Al Mawasi, a southern area Israel has designated a "humanitarian zone," sheltering displaced Palestinians in makeshift tents.

Netanyahu said civilians would be allowed to leave combat zones through designated corridors before the assault, without giving a start date.

He accused Hamas of setting "impossible conditions" that stalled Qatar-brokered talks. These conditions, he said, include a full Israeli withdrawal from the Strip, the release of Hamas's Nukhba fighters from Israeli prisons, and international guarantees to prevent Israel from resuming fire.

"These are terms of surrender that I will certainly not agree to accept," he said. "Hence, I was convinced that the only way forward is to decisively defeat Hamas."

Netanyahu said the security cabinet agreed the war would end only if five conditions are met: Hamas's disarmament, the release of hostages, Gaza's demilitarization, Israeli security control over the enclave, and the appointment of a non-Israeli civilian body to administer daily life in Gaza, which he said would not be Hamas or the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority.

Later, the prime minister's office said he spoke over phone with U.S. President Donald Trump. The two "discussed Israel's plans to take over the remaining Hamas strongholds in Gaza in order to end the war by releasing the hostages and defeating Hamas."

Netanyahu also thanked Trump for his "strong support for Israel since the beginning of the war," the office said in a statement.

On Sunday, at least five more people died of famine and malnutrition, according to Gaza's health authorities. The death toll in Gaza from Israeli military operations since the war started has risen to at least 61,430.■