Israel faces backlash at home, abroad over Gaza war escalation plan

UN asks Israel to immediately halt plan to control Gaza

FE Team | Published: August 08, 2025 23:39:33

JERUSALEM/CAIRO, Aug 8 (Agencies): Nations around the world expressed concern Friday over Israel's plan to wrest control of Gaza City, saying it would only worsen the conflict and lead to more bloodshed.
Israel's security cabinet approved a plan on Friday to take control of Gaza City, a move expanding military operations in the shattered Palestinian territory despite growing criticism at home and abroad over the almost two-year-old war.
Far-right allies in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition have been pushing for a total takeover of Gaza as part of his vow to eradicate Hamas militants, though the military has warned this could endanger the lives of remaining hostages held by the group.
Israel, at war in Gaza since Hamas' deadly attack on southern Israel in October 2023, is planning the expanded campaign after failed attempts to mediate a ceasefire and as it faces a rising international outcry over a deepening humanitarian disaster.
Meanwhile, UN human rights chief Volker Turk on Friday said that "the Israeli Government's plan for a complete military takeover of the occupied Gaza Strip must be immediately halted".
"It runs contrary to the ruling of the International Court of Justice that Israel must bring its occupation to an end as soon as possible, to the realisation of the agreed two-State solution and to the right of Palestinians to self-determination," he said in a statement.
Here is what they said:
EU: "The Israeli government's decision to further extend its military operation in Gaza must be reconsidered," EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said on X.
She called for a ceasefire, the release of all hostages and "immediate and unhindered access" for humanitarian aid in Gaza.
UK: "This action will do nothing to bring an end to this conflict or to help secure the release of the hostages," Prime Minister Keir Starmer said.
It would, he said, "only bring more bloodshed".
China: "Gaza belongs to the Palestinian people and is an inseparable part of Palestinian territory," a foreign ministry spokesperson told AFP.
"The correct way to ease the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and to secure the release of hostages is an immediate ceasefire."
Turkey: Turkey urged global pressure to halt the plan.
"We call on the international community to fulfil its responsibilities to prevent the implementation of this decision, which aims to forcibly displace Palestinians from their own land," said a foreign ministry statement.
Spain: "We firmly condemn the decision of the Israeli government to escalate the military occupation of Gaza," said Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares. "It will only cause more destruction and suffering."
Belgium: Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said on X that the Israeli ambassador had been summoned to express "our total disapproval of this decision".
Germany suspends arms exports
to Israel for use in Gaza
Germany has suspended all military exports to Israel that could be used in Gaza after Israel's security cabinet approved a plan to take over Gaza City, an escalation in the 22-month war.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced the decision on Friday, shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office confirmed the security cabinet voted in favour of a plan to seize the largest city in the besieged Palestinian territory. A day earlier, Netanyahu had declared that Israeli forces were aiming to take full military control of the entire Gaza Strip despite mounting international condemnation over Israel's war, which has killed tens of thousands of people and caused a starvation crisis.
Saudi Arabia condemns planned
Israeli occupation of Gaza
Saudi Arabia on Friday issued a condemnation of Israel’s declared occupation of the Gaza Strip, describing it as a flagrant violation of international law and a continuation of “barbaric practices and ethnic cleansing” against the Palestinian people.
In a statement published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Kingdom denounced what it called systematic displacement, inhumane policies, and war crimes by Israeli occupation forces, warning that such actions deepen regional instability and erode global peace frameworks.
Israel earlier approved a plan to take over Gaza City, marking another escalation of its 22-month offensive launched in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack.
“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia strongly condemns the Israeli occupation authorities’ decision to occupy the Gaza Strip and denounces the continued perpetration of forced displacement and ethnic cleansing against the brotherly Palestinian people,” the statement read.
Riyadh said the actions taken by Israeli authorities represent a disregard for history and international norms, stressing that the Palestinian people have a legitimate right to their land – rights protected under international law and humanitarian conventions.
The Kingdom expressed frustration at what it described as the failure of the international community, particularly the United Nations Security Council, to take decisive action.
Israel's Gaza City plan means more
misery for Palestinians and big
risk for Netanyahu
News of the Israeli government's decision to take over Gaza City is being met not surprisingly with despair in Gaza. Gaza City, its capital, is on a countdown to oblivion.
Assuming that Hamas does not capitulate in the coming weeks – and there are currently few signs of this happening – then the Israeli military is set to embark on a devastating new phase of the war.
For Gaza City, where an estimated one million civilians still live, the prospects are bleak.
Hundreds of thousands are people who were forced to flee during the early months of the war but who returned in January when a ceasefire raised hopes of an end to the fighting.
They spent more than a year away from their homes, driven from one location to another, living in increasingly desperate conditions.
When they returned to the north, many found their homes destroyed and their neighbourhoods erased. But they settled down where they could, believing the war might finally be over.