Hamas: Netanyahu's plan to occupy Gaza is a continuation of genocide and a coup against negotiations.

Istanbul / Anadolu

The Hamas movement confirmed on Thursday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plan to reoccupy the Gaza Strip is a continuation of the policy of extermination and displacement and a coup against the negotiation process. It warned that the expansion of aggression would not be a walk in the park.

This came in a statement commenting on an interview Netanyahu conducted with the American channel "Fox News," during which he announced his intention to reoccupy the Gaza Strip without retaining it, and then hand it over to Arab forces "that do not pose a threat to Israel," which Arab countries had previously rejected.

Netanyahu attempted, in his statements, to justify the anticipated step by saying that Gaza would be handed over to a "civilian rule," amid reports of escalating disagreements with the Israeli military establishment regarding the plan to reoccupy the territory.

Hamas stated: "What the war criminal Netanyahu is planning is a continuation of the policy of extermination and displacement, through committing more crimes against our Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip."

It emphasized that his statements "represent a blatant coup against the negotiation process (between the two sides), and clearly reveal the true motives behind his withdrawal from the last round, despite our nearing a final agreement."

On July 24, Israel withdrew from indirect negotiations with Hamas in Doha, after Tel Aviv repeatedly insisted on the withdrawal from Gaza, ending the war, the Palestinian prisoners, and the mechanism for distributing humanitarian aid.

Hamas confirmed in its statement that "Netanyahu's plans to expand aggression confirm that he seeks to rid himself of his captives and sacrifice them for his personal interests and extremist ideological agendas."

Tel Aviv estimates that there are 50 Israeli captives in Gaza, of whom 20 are alive, while more than 10,800 Palestinians are imprisoned in its jails, suffering from torture, starvation, and medical neglect, which has led to the deaths of many of them, according to Palestinian and Israeli human rights and media reports.

The movement stressed that "Gaza will remain resistant to occupation and attempts to impose guardianship over it," warning that "the expansion of aggression against our Palestinian people will not be a walk in the park, and its price will be high and costly for the occupation and its Nazi army."

Hamas called on Arab and Islamic countries and the international community to "condemn and reject these dangerous statements, and to take urgent action to stop the aggression and end the occupation, enabling our people to exercise their right to self-determination, and holding the enemy's leaders accountable for their ongoing crimes against our Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip."

Israel previously occupied the Gaza Strip for 38 years between 1967 and 2005, and currently about 2.4 million Palestinians live there, under an Israeli blockade for 18 years.

Since October 7, 2023, Israel, with American support, has been committing genocide in Gaza, including killing, starvation, destruction, and displacement, ignoring international calls and orders from the International Court of Justice to stop.

The genocide has resulted in 61,258 dead and 152,045 injured Palestinians, most of whom are children and women, in addition to over 9,000 missing persons, hundreds of thousands of displaced individuals, and famine that has claimed many lives.