Gaza latest: Netanyahu says he wants Israel to take control of entire enclave

A Jordanian official has said that Arabs “will only support what Palestinians agree and decide on” after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel wanted to hand over Gaza to Arab forces that would govern it.

“Security in Gaza must be done through legitimate Palestinian institutions,” the source said.

Netanyahu did not elaborate on the governance arrangements or which Arab countries could be involved.

The Israeli leader made the comments to Fox News shortly before a meeting he was due to have on Thursday with a small group of senior ministers to discuss plans for the military to take control of more territory in Gaza

“Arabs will not be agreeing to Netanyahu’s policies nor clean his mess,” the Jordanian official said in the first reaction by a main Arab neighbour to Netanyahu’s comments.

Omar Awadallah, the Palestinian deputy foreign minister, has told The Independent he believes that Netanyahu’s statements were intended to tank any ceasefire deal and that true security for Israelis and Palestinians can only come through peace not more conflict.

“Netanyahu saying this is an attempt to undermine any effort for a real ceasefire in the Gaza Strip – he is using this smoke screen of controlling all of Gaza while Israel is all ready the occupying power,” he said.

“We believe that security comes with peace, not with not reoccupying Gaza or committing genocide against the palestinian people or violating international law.”“Security comes with peace, with stability, with what the international community is willing to do to achieve that.”

Hamas officials have said that the group will treat any force formed to govern Gaza according to Netanyahu’s remarks as an ‘occupying’ force linked to Israel, according to Al Jazeera.

This comes as the group issued a statement warning that any occupation plans would pay a heavy price.

Exclusive: Israeli sources tell The Independent of the desperate campaign to halt Netanyahu’s Gaza war expansion plan – and say it will only put Israeli troops and hostages at risk.

Chief International Correspondent Bel Trew and Alex Croft report here:

Families of hostages and released hostages, alongside hundreds of supporters, are protesting outside the Israeli cabinet session in Jerusalem.

The families chained themselves in front of government offices.

Anat Angrest, mother of Matan Angrest, said: “For a year and ten months we’ve been trying to believe that everything is being done to bring them back – you have failed.

“Now it’s necessary to do the one thing the government hasn’t yet done – put a comprehensive deal on the table that will bring them all home together.

“Exactly a year ago, we were told that military pressure would bring them home – a few weeks after that, six hostages were murdered in tunnels.”

Palestinians have been represented for the first time at a memorial for the bomb dropped on Japan, amid warnings the world has not learned the lessons from 80 years ago. Alex Croft reports.

The Israeli military says it controls about 75 per cent of Gaza.

Most of Gaza’s population of about 2 million has been displaced multiple times over the past 22 months and aid groups are warning that the enclave’s residents are on the verge of famine.

Some far-right allies in his government have long advocated a full occupation of Gaza and for Israel to re-establish settlements there, two decades after it withdrew.

Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich told reporters Wednesday that he hoped the government would approve the military taking control over the rest of Gaza.