Published: 10:47, August 5, 2025
Israel says to achieve war objectives in Gaza 'without exception'
By Xinhua
Palestinians carry humanitarian aid packages near a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation distribution center operated by the US-backed organization, in Netzarim, central Gaza Strip, Aug 4, 2025. (PHOTO / AP)

JERUSALEM/AMMAN/GAZA/RAMALLAH - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday he will direct the Israeli army later this week on achieving three war objectives "without exception" in Gaza, where more deaths of starvation and malnutrition are recorded despite days of aid deliveries.

During his weekly Cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said he will convene the Security Cabinet later this week to "direct the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) how to achieve the three war objectives -- all of them, without exception," listing the goals as "defeating the enemy, releasing our hostages, and ensuring that Gaza will never again threaten Israel."

Speaking on condition of anonymity, an Israeli official told Xinhua that Netanyahu is expected to convene a security discussion on Tuesday to deliberate "a total reoccupation" of Gaza.

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Meanwhile, the Israeli military said in a statement that 120 aid packages containing food were airdropped over Gaza on Monday by the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, Germany, Belgium, and Canada. Monday marked the first time Canada joined the airdrop operations.

The Jordan Hashemite Charity Organization (JHCO) said in a statement that its new convoy of 38 trucks, carrying humanitarian aid, crossed into Gaza via the King Hussein Bridge on Monday.

JHCO Secretary-General Hussein Al-Shebli told Xinhua that 294 Jordanian aid trucks have entered Gaza over the past two weeks, out of a planned 452, due to continued Israeli restrictions at border crossings under the pretext of official working hours.

Medical equipment and devices have been denied entry, while inspection and clearance procedures have been prolonged, he said, noting that a single convoy now takes some 38 hours to reach Gaza.

Earlier in the day, the Hamas-run government media office said in a statement that only 80 aid trucks entered Gaza on Sunday, bringing the total number of aid trucks entering the enclave since Israel's aid entry permission on July 27 to 674, much less than the 4,800 trucks supposed to enter Gaza in the same period.

At least 600 trucks need to enter the enclave every day to meet the minimum requirements of life, it said, accusing Israel of "perpetuating a policy of starvation and chaos."

Also on Monday, Gaza-based health authorities said at least 9,440 Palestinians have been killed and 37,986 others injured since Israel renewed its intensive strikes in Gaza on March 18, bringing the total death toll since October 2023 to 60,933, and injuries to 150,027.

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Five new deaths due to starvation and malnutrition were recorded in the past 24 hours, bringing the overall death toll of that kind since October 2023 to 180, including 93 children, the authorities said.

A total of 35 Palestinians were killed on Monday in Israeli shelling and gunfire across Gaza, at least 12 of those while waiting for humanitarian aid, according to the Gaza Civil Defense.

Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson for the Civil Defense, said 11 Palestinians were killed in Israeli shelling targeting their homes in the Shuja'iyya area, east of Gaza City, five killed in Israeli shelling targeting a group of citizens in the Al-Tawam area, northwest of the city, and two more killed in the Beit Lahia area, north of the city.

In central Gaza, an Israeli airstrike killed three Palestinians in the city of Deir al-Balah, and Israeli army fire killed nine Palestinians and wounded at least 50 others waiting for food near a US-run aid distribution center, Basal said.

In southern Gaza, two Palestinians were killed in Israeli shelling at the Qizan al-Najjar area, south of Khan Younis, he said, noting that two people, including a woman, were killed and more than 20 others wounded in Israeli army fire on a group of Palestinians near an aid distribution center north of Rafah, and a woman was killed near an aid distribution center in Khan Younis.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli army on these incidents.

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Meanwhile, Palestine's foreign ministry and officials on Monday condemned US House Speaker Mike Johnson's visit to a Jewish settlement on Palestinian land in the West Bank.

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement, condemning Johnson's visit as an encouragement to "the crimes of settlements, settlers, and the confiscation of Palestinian lands".

It said that all settlement activity is invalid and illegal and undermines the opportunity to implement the two-state solution and achieve peace.

Palestinian National Council Speaker Rawhi Fattouh described the visit as "a dangerous bias toward the occupation and a flagrant violation of international law and resolutions of the United Nations, the Security Council, and the International Court of Justice."

Fattouh said in a statement that the visit "encourages and rewards the settlers for their crimes of murder, arson, and violence against the Palestinian people" and "provides cover for racist legislation issued by the Israeli Knesset to perpetuate the occupation and legitimize seizure, displacement, and apartheid."

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Fattouh stressed that the move "harms the United States' position as a permanent member of the Security Council and contradicts its legal and moral obligations."

Johnson visited a Jewish settlement in the West Bank on Monday. Israeli officials told US media outlet Axios that his visit was "private".