Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike on a reported water well in the al-Saftawi area west of Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip, on May 18, 2025. (Credit: Bashar Taleb/AFP)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that Israel will "take control of the entire Gaza Strip" as the military intensifies its offensive, shortly after greenlighting the resumption of food aid to the devastated and starving enclave.
"The fighting is intense, and we are progressing. We will take control of the entire Strip," Netanyahu said.
He defended his decision to partially ease the blockade on humanitarian aid, in place since March 2, citing “practical and diplomatic” reasons amid mounting international criticism, including from the United States.
“Two million people are starving” in Gaza, warned World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Monday.
Despite ramping up military operations, Israel is also involved in indirect cease-fire talks with Hamas. The militant group’s Oct. 7 attack in southern Israel sparked the war.
Deaths in Khan Younis, hospital targeted
Gaza’s Civil Defense said Monday that 22 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes across the territory, including near Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis. The Israeli army later called for immediate evacuations from several neighborhoods in the area ahead of what it described as an “unprecedented offensive.”
Witnesses told AFP that Israeli special forces stormed the home of a Palestinian militant near the hospital and killed him. “They executed the father and abducted his son and the child’s mother,” said Mohammad Sarhan, who described the scene as “apocalyptic,” with “fire belts, warplanes and helicopters.” He said he hid with his children in what he believed was the safest part of the house.
The Israeli military said Sunday it struck more than 160 targets across Gaza, including anti-tank missile sites and underground infrastructure.
'Tons of food blocked'
Netanyahu said in a video posted on social media that he had authorized "minimal humanitarian aid, food and medicine only" because Israel was close to "reaching the red line," and international support was beginning to waver in light of reports of widespread hunger in Gaza, reported Haaretz.
"Our best friends in the world — senators I know as strong supporters of Israel — have warned that they cannot support us if images of mass starvation emerge," he said. "We must avoid famine, both for practical reasons and diplomatic ones. Without international backing, we won't be able to complete the mission of victory."
Talks linked to Hamas disarmament
Netanyahu also said Sunday he was open to a deal that would end the offensive, but only if it includes the exile of Hamas leaders and the disarmament of Gaza — conditions the group has so far rejected.
Hamas has said it is prepared to release all hostages taken on Oct. 7, 2023, as part of a comprehensive agreement that would end the war and result in a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
Cease-fire pressure grows
Israel resumed major operations on March 18, ending a two-month cease-fire. In early May, it unveiled plans for a full military takeover of Gaza and to push most of its 2.4 million residents into the southernmost part of the territory.
But international pressure is mounting — even from its closest ally.
“We want the conflict to end, we want a cease-fire. We don’t want people to suffer like this. And while we blame Hamas for starting this, people are indeed suffering,” said U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who spoke with Netanyahu for the second time in three days.
Israeli attacks have killed at least 53,339 people in Gaza — mostly civilians — according to the latest figures from the Gaza Health Ministry, which are considered reliable by the United Nations.
