The Palestinian Authority on Saturday lambasted the Israeli government’s decision to expand its military operations in Gaza, as it called on the international community to push for the entry of aid into the strip.
According to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa, the authority’s presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh said the Israeli government’s moves were “an unprecedented challenge and provocation to the international will to achieve peace and stability”.
He also called on the “international community, led by the UN Security Council, to urgently compel the occupying state to cease its aggression, allow the entry of aid, and work diligently to enable the state of Palestine to assume its full responsibilities in the Gaza Strip”, reported Wafa.
Early Friday, the Israeli security cabinet approved plans to launch major operations to seize Gaza City, triggering a wave of outrage across the globe.
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Despite the backlash and rumours of dissent from Israeli military top brass, prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu remained defiant over the decision.
In a post on social media late on Friday, Mr Netanyahu said “we are not going to occupy Gaza – we are going to free Gaza from Hamas”.
Gaza’s civil defence agency said at least 10 people were killed across the Palestinian territory on Saturday, including civilians who were waiting to collect aid.
Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that at least six people were killed and 30 wounded after Israeli troops targeted civilians assembling near an aid point in central Gaza.
Mr Netanyahu faces mounting pressure to secure a ceasefire to bring the territory’s more than two million people back from the brink of famine and free the hostages held by Palestinian militants.
The worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza and Israel’s plans to expand military control over the enclave have pushed Germany to curb arms exports to Israel, a historically fraught step for Berlin driven by a growing public outcry.
Conservative chancellor Friedrich Merz, hitherto a staunchly pro-Israel leader, made the announcement on Friday, arguing that Israel’s actions would not achieve its stated war goals of eliminating Hamas militants or bringing Israeli hostages home.
The UN Security Council announced an emergency meeting on Israel’s plans was rescheduled to Sunday after originally being scheduled to take place on Saturday. The UN Mission of Panama, which holds the council presidency this month, provided no details, but Saturday is the Jewish Sabbath and Israel is certain to want to speak at the meeting.
The efforts for a new ceasefire have the backing of major Arab Gulf monarchies, according to two officials who spoke to AP anonymously due to the sensitivity of the discussions. One is involved directly in the deliberations and the second was briefed on the efforts.
The monarchies are concerned about further regional destabilisation if Israel fully reoccupies Gaza, the officials said.
A senior Hamas official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorised to brief the media, said the group has yet to receive details on the latest efforts to revive ceasefire talks.
The war was triggered on October 7th, 2023, when Hamas’s attack on Israel killed 1,200 people and saw 250 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies. Israel’s subsequent attack on Gaza has killed more than 60,000 people, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza.
Meanwhile, Iran has arrested 20 people it alleges are operatives of Israel’s Mossad spy agency in recent months, the judiciary said on Saturday, warning that they will face no leniency and will be made an example of.
On Wednesday, Iran executed a nuclear scientist named Rouzbeh Vadi, who was convicted of spying for Israel and passing on information on another nuclear scientist killed in Israel’s air strikes on Iran in June, state media reported.
Judiciary spokesman Asghar Jahangiri told reporters in Tehran on Saturday that charges against some of the 20 suspects arrested had been dropped and they were released. He did not give a number.
“The judiciary will show no leniency toward spies and agents of the Zionist regime, and with firm rulings, will make an example of them all,” Mr Jahangiri was quoted as saying by Iranian media.
Executions of Iranians convicted of spying for Israel have significantly increased this year, with at least eight death sentences carried out in recent months.
Israel carried out 12 days of air strikes on Iran in June, targeting Iran’s top generals, nuclear scientists, nuclear installations, as well as residential neighbourhoods. Iran responded with barrages of missiles and drones on Israel.
Rights group HRANA reported 1,190 Iranian deaths during the 12-day Israeli attacks, including 436 civilians and 435 security personnel. Israel said 28 were killed in Iran’s retaliatory attack. – Guardian/Reuters
