Netanyahu defends new military offensive in Gaza and says it will be
wider than announced
[August 11, 2025]
By WAFAA SHURAFA, SAM METZ and SAMY MAGDY
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday
defended a new military offensive in Gaza that's more sweeping than
previously announced, declaring in the face of growing condemnation at
home and abroad that Israel “has no choice but to finish the job and
complete the defeat of Hamas.”
Even as more Israelis express concern over the 22-month war, Netanyahu
said the security Cabinet last week instructed the dismantling of Hamas
strongholds not only in Gaza City but also in the “central camps” and
Muwasi. A source familiar with the operation, who spoke on condition of
anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media,
confirmed that Israel plans it in both areas.
The camps — sheltering well over a half-million displaced people,
according to the U.N. — had not been part of Israel's announcement
Friday. It was not clear why, though Netanyahu faced criticism this
weekend within his ruling coalition that targeting Gaza City was not
enough. Netanyahu said there would be “safe zones," but such designated
areas have been bombed in the past.
Late Sunday, heavy bombardment was reported in Gaza City. Shortly before
midnight local time, broadcaster Al Jazeera said correspondent Anas
al-Sharif was killed in a strike. Rami Mohanna, administrative director
at the nearby Shifa Hospital, said the strike hit a tent for Al Jazeera
journalists outside the hospital’s walls. Along with al-Sharif, three
other journalists and a driver were killed.
Israel’s military confirmed it, asserting al-Sharif had “posed as a
journalist” and alleging he was with Hamas. Al-Sharif had denied having
any political affiliations. The Committee to Protect Journalists last
month said it was gravely concerned for his safety and said he was a
“targeted by an Israeli military smear campaign.”
Netanyahu spoke with Trump about plan
Netanyahu's office late Sunday said he had spoken with U.S. President
Donald Trump about the plan and thanked him for his “steadfast support.”
Rejecting starvation in Gaza as well as a “global campaign of lies,"
Netanyahu spoke to foreign media just before an emergency meeting of the
United Nations Security Council, a platform for outrage but little
action on the war.
“Our goal is not to occupy Gaza, our goal is to free Gaza,” Netanyahu
asserted. The goals, he said, include demilitarizing the territory, the
Israeli military having “overriding security control” and a non-Israeli
civilian administration in charge.
Israel wants to increase the number of aid distribution sites in Gaza,
he said, but in a later briefing to local media, he asserted: “There is
no hunger. There was no hunger. There was a shortage, and there was
certainly no policy of starvation."
Netanyahu also said he has directed Israel’s military to “bring in more
foreign journalists” — which would be a striking development, as they
haven’t been allowed into Gaza beyond military embeds during the war.
He again blamed many of Gaza’s problems on the Hamas militant group,
including civilian deaths, destruction and aid shortages. “Hamas still
has thousands of armed terrorists," he asserted, adding that
Palestinians are “begging” to be freed from them.
Hamas responded with a lengthy statement that summed up Netanyahu's
remarks as “blatant lies.”
U.S. defends Israel at Security Council meeting
The United States defended Israel, saying it has the right to decide
what’s best for its security. It called allegations of genocide in Gaza
false.
The U.S. has veto power at the council and can block proposed actions
there.
Other council members, and U.N. officials, expressed alarm. China called
the “collective punishment” of people in Gaza unacceptable. Russia
warned against a “reckless intensification of hostilities.”
“This is no longer a looming hunger crisis; this is starvation,” said
Ramesh Rajasingham with the U.N. humanitarian office. “Humanitarian
conditions are beyond horrific. We have frankly run out of words to
describe it.”
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press
conference at the Prime minister's office in Jerusalem, Sunday, Aug.
10, 2025. (Abir Sultan/Pool Photo via AP)
Israel faces growing action even by its closest allies. Netanyahu
said Chancellor Friedrich Merz of Germany had “buckled under” the
growing international criticism by stopping exports of military
equipment to Israel that could be used in Gaza. Merz, for his part,
told public broadcaster ARD that Germany and Israel were talking
“very critically” but Berlin’s overall policies of friendship
haven’t changed.
More Palestinians killed as they seek aid
At least 31 Palestinians were killed while seeking aid in Gaza,
hospitals and witnesses said. The Associated Press spoke to
witnesses of gunfire in the Israeli-controlled Morag and Netzarim
corridors and the Teina area in the south. All accused Israeli
forces of firing at crowds trying to reach food distributions or
waiting for convoys.
Fifteen people were killed while waiting for trucks near the Morag
corridor that separates the southern cities of Rafah and Khan Younis,
according to Nasser hospital.
The situation is a “death trap,” said Jamal al-Laweh, who said
Israeli forces opened fire there. “But I have no other choice to
feed the kids.”
Six were killed while waiting for aid in northern Gaza near the
Zikim crossing, according to Gaza's Health Ministry and Shifa
hospital.
In central Gaza, witnesses said they heard warning shots before fire
was aimed toward crowds trying to reach a distribution site operated
by the Israeli-backed and U.S.-funded Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
The AP could not independently confirm who fired. Awda hospital said
four people were killed by Israeli gunfire.
Six other aid-seekers were killed while trying to reach GHF sites in
Khan Younis and Rafah, Nasser hospital said.
The GHF sites opened in May as an alternative to the U.N.-run aid
system, but operations have been marred by deaths and chaos.
Responding to AP inquiries, the GHF media office said: “There were
no incidents at or near our sites today.” Israel's military said
there were no incidents involving troops near central Gaza aid
sites.
Hunger death toll among children hits 100
Israel’s air and ground offensive has displaced most Palestinians
and pushed the territory toward famine. Two Palestinian children
died of malnutrition-related causes on Saturday, bringing the toll
among children to 100 since the war began.
At least 117 adults have died of malnutrition-related causes since
June, when the ministry started to count them.
The hunger toll is in addition to the ministry’s war toll of 61,400
Palestinians. The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government and
staffed by medical professionals, doesn’t distinguish between
fighters or civilians, but says around half of the dead have been
women and children. The U.N. and independent experts consider it the
most reliable source on war casualties.
___
Shurafa reported from Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, and Magdy from
Cairo. Associated Press writers Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel;
Sally Abou AlJoud in Beirut; Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations
and Jamey Keaten in Geneva contributed.
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