IMAGE: AFP
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly informed his cabinet that the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) are preparing for a possible military campaign in the Gaza Strip if tensions there grow further, according to Israeli media.
“If the reality of civil distress in Gaza is diminished, that is desirable, but that is not certain to happen, and so we are preparing militarily — that is not an empty statement,” Netanyahu stated according to Israel’s Hadashot.
i24NEWS also reported the following:
“Senior defense officials apparently told Hadashot that Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas was irked by the transfer of funds from Qatar to the coastal enclave, in spite of his attempts to cut financial aid to the Hamas-ruled Strip.
UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Nikolay Mladenov had facilitated the transfer. “
Several Palestinian, Israeli and international humanitarian entities reports have recently stated that the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is deteriorating rapidly. The region itself has been reeling under a strict Israeli blockade since 2007.
Since March 2018, more than 190 Palestinians have been killed and thousands others injured by Israeli forces fire during anti-occupation protests near contact line between the Gaza Strip and the Israeli-held area.
