Hamas responds to “Israel’s” decision to occupy Gaza City

Hamas today condemned the “Israeli” Security Cabinet's decision to occupy Gaza City, calling the plan a "new war crime" that its military intends to commit against the city and its population of nearly one million people.

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In a press statement, Hamas said the cabinet's approved plans constitute a "full-fledged war crime" and a continuation of “Israel's” policy of “genocide, forced displacement, and brutal practices that amount to ethnic cleansing" against the Palestinian people.

Hamas asserted that Israel's use of the term "control" instead of "occupation" is a transparent attempt to "evade its legal responsibility for the consequences of its brutal crime against civilians."

The statement said the plan represents an implicit admission that it violates the Geneva Conventions and poses a direct threat to the lives of nearly one million Palestinians in the city.

Hamas added it has shown "all necessary flexibility and positivity" to the Egyptian and Qatari mediators and would not hesitate to take steps toward a “comprehensive deal” to release all “Israeli” captives in exchange for an end to the war and the withdrawal of “Israeli” forces.

The group also accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government of not caring about the fate of "Israeli" captives, suggesting that expanding the aggression means "sacrificing them." Hamas argued that the decision to occupy Gaza explains "Israel's" sudden withdrawal from the latest negotiation round, which was reportedly close to a ceasefire and captive exchange deal. 

Hamas warned "Israel" that this "criminal adventure will cost it a high price" and will "not be a walk in the park," claiming that the Palestinian people and their resistance cannot be broken or surrendered.

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Earlier today, “Israel's” security cabinet has approved a plan proposed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the military to "take control" of Gaza City, his office said in a statement Friday.

Under the plan to "defeat" Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the “Israeli” army "will prepare to take control of Gaza City while distributing humanitarian assistance to the civilian population outside combat zones", it said.

Nearly two years into the war in Gaza, the “Israeli” prime minister faces mounting pressure at home and abroad for a truce to pull the Palestinian territory's more than two million people back from the brink of famine and to spare captives held by Hamas.

As he convened his security cabinet on Thursday, Netanyahu said “Israel” planned to take full control of Gaza but did not intend to govern it.

Ahead of the meeting, Netanyahu told US network Fox News that the government intended to seize complete control of the Gaza Strip.

He added that Israel did not want "to keep" the Gaza Strip, which “Israel” occupied in 1967 but withdrew troops and settlers from in 2005.

Netanyahu said “Israel “wanted a "security perimeter" and to hand the Palestinian territory to "Arab forces that will govern it properly without threatening us and giving Gazans a good life."