Israel’s allies are desperately trying to change the country’s war trajectory as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refuses to relent on his mission to exterminate Hamas.
French and Saudi Arabian officials are collaborating on a proposal that would completely disarm Hamas but allow the group to remain as a political entity with a role in a future Palestinian government, according to a report from Bloomberg.
The effort is almost certainly destined for the trash bin as Netanyahu’s government has continued its military campaign in Gaza despite threats of “targeted sanctions” from some of its closest allies.
France, the United Kingdom, and Canada released a joint statement on Monday that condemned the Israeli government in unequivocal language over the compromised rate of aid distribution to Gazans, the expansion of Israeli settlements, and the continued military attacks on the war-torn strip.
“We will not stand by while the Netanyahu Government pursues these egregious actions,” the three countries threatened. “If Israel does not cease the renewed military offensive and lift its restrictions on humanitarian aid, we will take further concrete actions in response.”
The Gaza Health Ministry, which is operated by Hamas, claims that almost 3,000 people have died since Israel ended the previous ceasefire in March.
Netanyahu’s government lifted its blockades this week after approximately three months of preventing food and other humanitarian aid from entering the Gaza Strip.
United Nations agencies assert that the “basic” aid being shipped in by dozens of trucks is far from the level necessary to feed the 2 million people in the region.
The Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories: Judea and Samaria, a civil affairs organization within the Israeli Ministry of Defense, denies claims of a famine.
“According to our current assessment, there is no food shortage in Gaza at this time,” a COGAT statement reads. “Food aid truck entries have been conducted in accordance with the situation assessment and in order to prevent any shortages.”
“In recent days, hundreds of trucks have entered Gaza, including significant quantities of baby food and flour for bakeries,” the COGAT continued. “Part of this aid has been collected by UN agencies.”
Indonesia Hospital, al Awda Hospital, and Kamal Adwan Hospital, the last remaining hospitals in the region, are not operating due to the immediate proximity of the Israeli military.
Hamas still holds 58 hostages, approximately a third of whom are believed to be alive.
Yair Golan, a former Israeli deputy commander and chairman of the Democrats party in the Knesset, offered on Monday perhaps the strongest political rebuke of Netanyahu’s government yet, accusing the prime minister of leading the nation down a path of immorality and destruction.
“Israel is on the path to becoming a pariah state among the nations, like the South Africa of old, if it does not return to behaving like a sane country,” Golan said.
“A sane country does not wage war against civilians, does not kill babies for a hobby, and does not set goals involving the expulsion of populations,” he continued. “It cannot be that we, the Jewish people, who have suffered persecution, pogroms, and genocide throughout our history, and who have served as a moral compass for Jewish and human values, are now taking actions that are simply unconscionable.”
Netanyahu dismissed Golan’s statements as bigoted and radical, accusing him and his political allies of “moral decay.”
POLITICIANS AND DIPLOMATS LAMENT DEATHS OF TWO ISRAELI EMBASSY STAFFERS
“At a time when we are fighting a multifront war and leading complicated diplomatic efforts to free our hostages and defeat Hamas, Golan and his friends in the radical left are trumpeting the most despicable antisemitic blood libels against [Israeli] soldiers and the State of Israel,” Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu’s demands for a permanent ceasefire include the complete destruction of Hamas, the return of all remaining hostages, and the implementation of President Donald Trump’s plan for the United States to take control of the Gaza Strip.
