PM Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday said Israel has no plans to occupy Gaza but to free it from Hamas, the organisation that attacked Israel in 2023 and led to the ongoing conflict in the area.

Gazans are "begging us and begging the world" to be freed from Hamas, Netanyahu was quoted as saying by BBC.

"Our goal is not to occupy Gaza. Our goal is to free Gaza from Hamas terrorists," he said.

He said the war can end if the Hamas decides to free hostages and even agrees to put down the arms.

Security Council

It’s essential to work towards a two-State solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict as the international community addresses the reality of starvation on the ground in Gaza, the Security Council heard on Sunday.

Two top UN officials warned that the Israeli cabinet’s green light this week for a fresh offensive aimed at gaining total military control of Gaza City – home to around one million Palestinians – would only risk igniting “another horrific chapter” of displacement, death and destruction.

Miroslav Jenča, Assistant Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia and the Americas, told ambassadors that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s proposed plan for “defeating Hamas” and the establishment of an alternative civilian administration that is neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority, risked “yet another dangerous escalation” that would destabilise the entire region.

However, according to Israeli media reports, the senior political affairs official continued, the Israeli plan foresees the displacement of all civilians from Gaza City by 7 October, affecting some 800,000 people – many previously displaced.

Reports indicate that forces would then surround the city for three months.  This would reportedly then be followed by an additional two months to seize control of central Gaza’s camps and clear the entire area of Palestinian armed groups.