Hamas fighters in Gaza during a military parade.
Hamas responds to Netanyahu’s new Gaza City takeover plan
Hamas on Sunday issued a statement in response to today’s press conference by “Israeli” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling his claims "desperate" attempts to conceal the "genocide and starvation crime" in the Gaza Strip.
Netanyahu announced Sunday his new plan to expand the war in Gaza and target the remaining Hamas strongholds saying it is "the best way to end the war", defying growing calls to stop the fighting.
Defending his plan in a press conference in Jerusalem, the premier said the new operation would be implemented on "a fairly short timetable because we want to bring the war to an end".
Hamas stated that Netanyahu's declarations were a "desperate attempt to absolve the Zionist entity and its criminal army" of what it called crimes of genocide and starvation that have led to the deaths of more than 18,000 children.
The group cited dozens of international and UN reports as evidence against Netanyahu's "misleading rhetoric."
Hamas also addressed Netanyahu's use of the term "liberation," calling it a "transparent ploy" to conceal the reality of the occupation and its "systematic killing and destruction for more than 22 months."
It dismissed his claim of not wanting to occupy Gaza as "deception" that masks his plans for "forced displacement" and installing a subservient authority.
The statement accused Netanyahu of using the captive issue as a pretext to continue the aggression, "forgetting that his army caused the death of dozens of them."
Hamas added that Netanyahu had reneged on a ceasefire agreement signed in January and withdrew from the latest round of negotiations that were "one step away from reaching a deal."
The group said the only way to save the captives is to "stop the aggression and reach a deal, not to continue bombing and the siege."
Netanyahu said the plan aims "to dismantle the two remaining Hamas strongholds in Gaza City and the central camps", while establishing secure corridors and safe zones to allow civilians to leave the area.
"Israel has no choice but to finish the job and complete the defeat of Hamas. Now we've done a great deal. We have about 70 to 75 percent of Gaza under Israeli control, military control," he said.
"But we have two remaining strongholds, OK? These are Gaza City and the central camps in Al Mawasi."
