Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, in a speech on April 27, that Israel will retain military control of Gaza. “Hamas will not be there. We’re not going to put the [Palestinian Authority] PA there—why replace one regime which is sworn to our destruction with another regime that is sworn to our destruction? We won’t do that,” he told a conference hosted by the Jewish News Syndicate in Jerusalem, reported Middle East Eye. “Israel will in any case control the area militarily. We’re not going to succumb to any pressure not to do that,” he said. Netanyahu was speaking a day before the International Court of Justice was to begin five days of hearings on Israel’s complete blockade of Gaza, which has been blocking the supply of food, medical supplies, and all other humanitarian relief into Gaza since March 2.
Netanyahu claimed that the Biden Administration had advised him not to launch a ground invasion, adding that “assumptions that were broadcast around the world” that the offensive would result in a high civilian death toll were “proved to be wrong,” claiming falsely that almost no civilians were killed during the operation. “We kept moving them out of harm’s way,” he said, alluding to the so-called “humanitarian zone” in al-Mawasi, to which Rafah residents were instructed to flee and that Israeli forces have repeatedly targeted throughout the war.
