Israeli army okays "main framework" of Gaza attack plan despite global condemnation, kills 41 across Gaza

JERUSALEM/GAZA, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Israel's military chief Eyal Zamir on Wednesday approved the main framework of a government plan to expand the offensive in Gaza to areas not yet under Israeli control.

The offensive will later target refugee camps in central Gaza and the southern area of Al Mawasi, where most of Gaza's 2.2 million residents have taken shelter, according to a statement by the Israeli military.

The principles of the plan were approved in a meeting of security officials earlier on Wednesday, the statement said, adding that "the central concept for the plan for the next stages in the Gaza Strip was presented and approved, in accordance with the directive of the political echelon."

Zamir's approval came three days after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military had been ordered to enter the "decisive stage" of the Gaza war, aimed at seizing the remaining Hamas strongholds in Gaza City, refugee camps in central Gaza, and Al Mawasi's southern area, an order widely condemned amid Gaza's worsening humanitarian crisis.

It also came as Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar told a press briefing on Wednesday that Israel rejects a two-state solution and "will not allow" the establishment of a Palestinian state.

On Sunday, a rare emergency weekend meeting held by the UN Security Council saw widespread outrage at the Israeli plan. Yet the session ended with no resolution as the United States, a veto-wielding permanent member of the Security Council, sided with Israel.

"If these (Israeli) plans are implemented, they will likely trigger another calamity in Gaza, reverberating across the region and causing further forced displacement, killings, and destruction, compounding the unbearable suffering of the population," UN Assistant Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia and the Americas Miroslav Jenca warned the Council.

On Monday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan slammed Israel over Gaza and accused Netanyahu of running a "network of massacres" and seeking to prolong his political survival at the cost of further bloodshed in the region.

On late Tuesday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and his Saudi counterpart Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud held a phone conversation, during which they reiterated rejection of the Israeli plan, calling it "an attempt to deepen the illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories, continue the genocide war against the unarmed Palestinians, undermine their right to self-determination and establish their independent state."

They also regarded the plan as "a blatant violation of international law and humanitarian international law," read a statement released Wednesday by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry.

Meanwhile, Mahmoud Basal, the spokesperson for Gaza's civil defense, told Xinhua at least 41 Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza on Wednesday.

In southern Gaza, 12 people were killed by Israeli army gunfire while waiting to receive food near an aid center southwest of Khan Younis. In central Gaza, five people were killed and 10 others injured as the Israeli army targeted civilian gatherings near the aid distribution point at the Netzarim axis. Four were killed by Israeli fire while waiting for aid near Kissufim, east of Deir al-Balah, Basal said.

In Gaza City, at least 12 were killed during an Israeli airstrike at the home of the Abu Daf family in the Zeitoun neighborhood, east of the city, and eight others, including five children, were killed when tents housing displaced people were targeted in the Tal al-Hawa neighborhood, south of the city, Basal said.

According to local eyewitnesses, the Israeli army continued to demolish residential buildings in Rafah, Khan Younis, and eastern Gaza, in addition to artillery shelling in the eastern outskirts.

The developments came as a delegation of Hamas leaders, headed by Khalil Al-Hayya, on Wednesday continued its meetings in Cairo with Egyptian officials on ceasefire negotiations in Gaza.

Egypt's Al-Qahera News channel, citing an Egyptian official source, reported that the delegation arrived in Cairo on Tuesday to discuss resuming Gaza ceasefire talks, to reach a temporary 60-day truce agreement.

However, Netanyahu told Israeli broadcaster i24 on Tuesday in an interview that Israel is "not going back to partial agreements," accusing Hamas of "misleading" Israel, without providing details.

Gaza-based health authorities reported on Wednesday eight more deaths from famine and malnutrition in the past 24 hours, including three children, bringing the total number of hunger-related deaths to 235, including 106 children.

The total number of people killed by Israeli strikes since October 2023 has risen to 61,722, with another 154,525 wounded, according to the health authorities.  ■