International condemnation forced Israel to allow a trickle of aid into Gaza, but the aid remains utterly insufficient and Palestinians are still starving. Israel has killed more than 62,000 people, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's health ministry. Aharon Haliva was recorded saying 'For every person on October 7, 50 Palestinians must die,' which explicitly describes a war crime. Defence minister Israel Katz authorised plans to call up 60,000 soldiers to seize and occupy Gaza City, forcing out hundreds of thousands and worsening civilian catastrophe. Netanyahu faces a choice between accepting a ceasefire and pursuing a prolonged war for political survival amid growing domestic opposition.
Israel has killed more than 62,000 people, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's health ministry. Israel's former intelligence chief Aharon Haliva, in charge when the Hamas atrocities of 2023 took place, was recently recorded saying that For every person on October 7, 50 Palestinians must die. It doesn't matter now if they are children. That isn't merely vengeful and obscene, it explicitly describes a war crime. The death toll is likely to soar again.
The defence minister, Israel Katz, has authorised plans for the call up of 60,000 soldiers to seize and occupy Gaza City forcing out hundreds of thousands of Palestinians and bringing further catastrophe to exhausted, desperate and traumatised civilians. Yet Benjamin Netanyahu has an alternative: agree to a ceasefire proposal, already accepted by Hamas, and reportedly almost identical to an earlier plan presented by the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff, which Israel accepted.
Reports of military discontent should be regarded with caution: it has not prevented the Israel Defense Forces from drawing up and beginning to implement plans for the Gaza City offensive. But 74% of Israelis want the war to end, and there were huge protests at the weekend, mostly reflecting concern for hostages and the toll on soldiers. A survey last month found that 79% of Jewish Israelis were not very troubled or not troubled at all by reports of famine and suffering in Gaza.
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