Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu Defends Planned Military Takeover of Gaza

President Donald Trump and Netanyahu spoke by phone to discuss the planned Israeli operation to establish full military control of Gaza City in the Gaza Strip.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a press conference at the Prime minister's office in Jerusalem on August 10, 2025. ABIR SULTAN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Aug. 10 defended his nation’s planned military takeover of the Gaza Strip, saying Israel “has no choice but to finish the job and complete the defeat of [the] Hamas [terrorist group].”

On Aug. 10, U.S. President Donald Trump and Netanyahu spoke by phone to discuss the planned Israeli operation to establish full military control of Gaza City in the Gaza Strip, which was approved by the Israeli Security Cabinet last week.

According to a post on the official Israeli prime minister X account, Trump and Netanyahu “discussed Israel’s plans for taking military control of the remaining Hamas strongholds in Gaza in order to bring about the end of the war, the release of the hostages, and the defeat of Hamas.”

Trump has indicated that aside from U.S. humanitarian interests in the region, he’s prepared to leave military decisions up to Israel’s leaders.

“I know that we are there now trying to get people fed,” Trump told reporters on Aug. 5. “As far as the rest of it, I really can’t say. That’s going to be pretty much up to Israel.”

‘Goal Is Not to Occupy Gaza’

Netanyahu defended his nation’s plans at an Aug. 10 press conference attended by foreign reporters, saying that he is pushing back against a “global campaign of lies” about the conflict, humanitarian concerns, and Israel’s intentions in Gaza.

“Our goal is not to occupy Gaza,” Netanyahu said. “Our goal is to free Gaza, free it from Hamas terrorists.”

Earlier in the day, Netanyahu said that after establishing military control, Israel has set the goal of eventually transferring authority to a local security force capable of governing the territory effectively, without the influence of Hamas.

He said Israel would also establish “a security zone” along the border “to prevent future terrorist incursions. A civilian administration will be established in Gaza that will seek to live in peace with Israel. That’s our plan for the day after Hamas.”

5 Conditions for Ending the War

The prime minister said there is a “fairly short timetable” for what comes next in the Gaza Strip and listed his five conditions for ending the war.

Netanyahu said the Hamas terrorist group must be disarmed, all hostages must be freed, and the Gaza Strip must be demilitarized completely, with the Israeli military retaining military oversight of the territory.

“Gaza will be demilitarized, Israel will have overriding security responsibilities,” he said.

Netanyahu also called for a non-Israeli civilian administration who “will seek to live in peace with Israel,” which he said disqualified Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, to take control of the Gaza Strip.

“By that, I mean a civilian administration that doesn’t educate its children for terror, doesn’t pay terrorists, and doesn’t launch terrorist attacks against Israel,“ he said. ”That’s what we want to see in Gaza.

“Given Hamas’s refusal to lay down its arms, Israel has no choice but to finish the job and complete the defeat of Hamas.”

The prime minister said his short timetable on the military incursion is due to his desire to “bring the war to an end” quickly, which involves talking to the United States “about additional measures.”

Growing Famine

Many outside groups, including foreign leaders and humanitarian organizations, have raised concerns over growing famine in the Gaza Strip.

The prime minister blamed Hamas for many of these, including civilian deaths, the destruction of infrastructure, and the failure of aid to reach those in need.

Netanyahu said he was looking into the possibility of his government suing The New York Times after the paper recently used a photo of a Palestinian boy suffering from cerebral palsy on its cover and suggested that his frailty was due to starvation in the Gaza Strip instead of his medical condition. The paper ultimately issued a correction to the story.

Netanyahu defended Israel’s handling of the humanitarian concerns, saying, “what we’re doing … is [to] designate safe corridors, expand the [Gaza Health Ministry] distribution points, and ... bring in more resources,” he said. Netanyahu also noted that Israel plans to increase air drops of aid into the Gaza Strip.

“The most important thing is ground routes that bring aid, a surge of aid to the Palestinian population, as far as we can without letting Hamas loot it.”

After facing scrutiny for not allowing more foreign journalists into the Gaza Strip, Netanyahu said his office has directed the Israeli military to allow more reporters inside the enclave.

“There’s a problem of assuring security but I think it can be done in a way that is responsible and careful to preserve your own safety,” he said.

Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong told The Epoch Times on Aug. 9 that Netanyahu should abandon his plan to fully occupy Gaza City.

“Australia calls on Israel to not go down this path, which will only worsen the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza,” Wong said, noting that a forced displacement of the population would run afoul of international law.

“With international partners, Australia maintains our call for a cease-fire, the return of hostages, and aid to flow unimpeded. A two-state solution is the only pathway to secure an enduring peace—a Palestinian state and the state of Israel, living side-by-side in peace and security within internationally recognized borders.”

Evgenia Filimianova, Ryan Morgan, Naziya Alvi Rahman, and The Associated Press contributed to this report.