Netanyahu says he ordered Israeli army to take 70% of Gaza Strip | Radio-Canada

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that he had ordered the Israeli army to ignore the terms of the ceasefire that came into force in October and take control of 70% of the Gaza Strip, according to a video broadcast by a Israeli television.

Currently we are holding the [mouvement islamiste palestinien] Hamas at the throat. We now control 60% of the territory of the Gaza Stripdeclared Mr. Netanyahu during a conference in an Israeli colony in the occupied West Bank, of which channel 12 broadcast an extract on its site.

You know, he continues, there were 50 of us [après l’entrée en vigueur du cessez-le-feu]we have moved to 60, my directive is to move to… 100then proclaims the audience.

In order. First 70. Let’s start with thatreprend M. Nétanyahou, we have them on all sides… We’ll take care of the rest later.

These declarations come as Gaza remains the scene of daily violence, with Israeli strikes continuing without respite while Israel and Hamas accuse each other of violating the ceasefire.

The truce came into effect under pressure from the United States on October 10, two years after the war started on October 7, 2023 by Hamas’ unprecedented attack on Israel.

The first phase of the ceasefire allowed the release of the last hostages in Gaza kidnapped by Hamas, in exchange for Palestinians detained by Israel. But the transition to the second phase, which should result in the disarmament of Hamas and a gradual withdrawal of the Israeli army, has appeared completely blocked for weeks.

Under the terms of the ceasefire, Israeli forces were to retreat behind a yellow linename given to the dividing line between the zone under the control of Hamas and that held by the Israeli army which gave the latter control of a little more than 50% of the small territory.

But Mr. Netanyahu announced on May 15 that the army had expanded its hold on the Gaza Strip. Some told us to leave, we did not leave and, today, we control 60% of the territory. Tomorrow we will seehe said.

More than 2 million Palestinians from Gaza are now crowding into the area of ​​Gaza still under Hamas control, where the humanitarian situation remains catastrophic according to the cry of alarm launched on May 22HIM by three ONG leading international aid agencies, accusing Israel of not respecting its obligations.

Israel suspends relations with Secretary General of theHIM

At the same time, the Israeli ambassador toHIM announced Thursday the suspension of relations with the Secretary General of theHIM Antonio Guterres, thus denouncing the not yet public decision to include Israel on the blacklist linked to sexual violence during conflicts.

We are done with this general secretarydeclared Danny Danon in a video message published on X. The Israeli mission clarified that this meant the gel of its relations with the office of the secretary general until the end of Antonio Guterres’ mandate on December 31, 2026.

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The decision to blacklist Israel and accuse us of using sexual violence as a weapon of war is scandaloushammered the ambassador, accusing the secretary general of putting Hamas and Israel on the same level.

Danny Danon refers to a report by the Secretary General on conflict-related sexual violence, which has not yet been made public but is still being presented before publication to the states concerned.

Last August, the annual report warned that Israel could be added to the list of parties suspected or responsible for sexual violence in situations of armed conflict, a list where Hamas already finds itself.

L’HIM had then mentioned informations crédibles of sexual violence committed by Israeli security forces against Palestinian detainees in prisons and other detention centers, highlighting a refusal of access by inspectorsHIM.

We invited representatives of theHIM to come to Israel to inspect these ridiculous accusations, they chose not to come, they chose to continue with the campaign against Israel.

Relations between the UN and Israel – a state created by a United Nations resolution passed in 1947 – are notoriously difficult and at their lowest point since October 7, 2023.

The Israeli authorities particularly criticize the secretary general and other UN officials for having harshly criticized Israeli reprisals in Gaza. Antonio Guterres had been declaredpersona non grata in Israel in 2024.