TRANSCRIPT
Israel's ground invasion of Gaza's north and south is now well underway, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying his military will destroy Hamas and seize and occupy the whole of the enclave.
"There is huge fighting going on, intense and huge, and we're approaching. We are going to control all parts of the (Gaza) Strip, that's what we're going to do."
In a statement on Monday, Israeli Finance Minister and Security Cabinet member Bezalel Smotrich says Israel's goal is destroying everything that’s left of the Gaza Strip.
He went on to say, “We are conquering, cleansing, and remaining in Gaza until Hamas is destroyed, as per a translation by Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
These comments have Palestinians in Gaza fearing the worst: the mass displacement of the entirety of their 2.1 million population from their homeland.
A new assault on the southern city of Khan Younis has forced relatives from their homes with the Israeli military ordering them to head west.
Azza Abu Lahya, one of the displaced, says her people just want to live in peace.
"I don't know where we are going, by God I don't know. I don't know where my children went, all the people have been lost. What is left of the country? This is enough, let us stay in our homes, we are okay with what we have. We don't want to leave, it is enough, we are in disarray at night, and now we are in disarray, it is enough, God did not order this."
So far, Israel's assault on Gaza has killed over 53,000 Palestinians according to Gaza's health ministry.
And while Israel's significant new offensive gets underway, Director General of Israel's Foreign Ministry Eden Bar Tal has announced they have allowed five trucks carrying aid and food to enter Gaza for the first time in nearly three months.
"Today, Israel is facilitating the entry of trucks with baby food into Gaza. The bottom line is clear. Israel always complies with international law and with its obligations and statements. Everyone in the international community will take a decision which side he is on: on Israel's side or on the Hamas side."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the move was made after Israel's allies threatened to withdraw support for their final push to destroy Hamas and free Israeli hostages.
“Our greatest friends in the world, senators who I know as enthusiastic supporters of Israel and without any condition, come to me and tell me this: We are giving you all the assistance to complete the victory: weapons, support for your moves to eliminate Hamas, protection in the Security Council. There is one thing we cannot stand; we cannot accept images of hunger, mass hunger, and that is what we cannot stand. We won’t be able to support you. Therefore, in order to achieve the victory, we must somehow solve the problem until we establish those points and until we build the sterile area under IDF control for the distribution of food and medicines. We need to provide some kind of bridging, a basic minimal bridging so that there will be no hunger.”
The five trucks that Israel has allowed in so far has done little to address a widespread hunger crisis across Gaza.
In comparison, during the most recent ceasefire that Israel ended in March, some 600 aid trucks entered the enclave each day.
Australia has now joined 21 other countries in demanding the immediate and full resumption of aid into Gaza to prevent mass starvation.
The United Kingdom, France and Canada have also issued a joint statement calling the aid wholly inadequate, urging an end to Israel's new assault on Gaza and threatening them with sanctions
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the European Union's Ursula von der Leyen called the situation intolerable and unacceptable.
STARMER: "It is a really serious, unacceptable, intolerable situation. And that's why we are working intensely to coordinate with other leaders how we respond to this because it is intolerable, it is unacceptable, and we will continue to work in that way."
VON DER LEYEN: "The blockade on Gaza needs to be lifted now because humanitarian aid must never be politicised. And we are calling for resumption of the ceasefire and the immediate release of the hostages so that a permanent end of the hostilities can be finally achieved."
But with words of condemnation so far unable to stop the Israeli war effort, the future for Gaza remains uncertain.
