Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended a new ground offensive aimed at seizing Gaza City and adjacent refugee camps, describing it as the quickest way to finish the 22-month war with Hamas. Speaking to foreign media in Jerusalem after his security cabinet endorsed the operation, he said Israeli forces already control roughly 70% to 75% of the Gaza Strip and will now move against the militant group’s two remaining strongholds. Netanyahu insisted the campaign is “not to occupy Gaza but to free it,” outlining five goals: dismantling Hamas, recovering the roughly 49 hostages still held in the enclave, demilitarising the territory, ensuring overriding Israeli security control and installing a non-Hamas, non-Israeli civilian administration. He declined to give a start date but said the timetable would be “fairly short” and that Israel seeks to avoid a war of attrition. The plan envisages relocating about one million residents from combat zones through protected corridors and expanding aid deliveries, including potential airdrops. Netanyahu blamed Hamas for blocking food distribution and denied accusations that Israel is deliberately engineering famine, while acknowledging severe privations inside the enclave. The announcement drew sharp reactions at home and abroad. Far-right coalition partners demanded a full occupation, while families of hostages warned the assault could endanger their relatives. In New York, the UN Security Council convened an emergency session where senior officials cautioned that a large-scale assault on Gaza City could trigger another humanitarian calamity. Hamas dismissed the prime minister’s statements as “a series of lies” and said any expansion of the offensive would sacrifice the captives.