“Adding a ground offensive to what remains of Gaza is an absolute catastrophe, beyond anything that can be said,” Agnès Levallois, vice president of the Institute for Middle East Research and Mediterranean Studies (iReMMO), warned in statements to France Inter.
According to the academic, the reoccupation of the Strip, an enclave that together with the already occupied West Bank makes up the Palestinian state recognized by more than 150 countries, responds to Netanyahu’s political agenda, as he grapples with internal pressure over cases of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust.
At the Prime Minister’s proposal, the Israeli Security Cabinet recently approved the plan to control Gaza, based on arguments such as the goal of eliminating the Hamas militia, which is holding several hostages captured on October 7, 2023.
Levallois recalled that Israel currently controls 75% of the Strip, confining its two million inhabitants to some areas.
This measure will force one million people to move, but the question is where to go, the vice president of iReMMO, who lamented the prevailing situation in Gaza, stressed.
The Israeli aggression and blockade in retaliation for Hamas attacks in 2023 are responsible for more than 60,000 deaths, according to local sources, and a humanitarian crisis with the risk of widespread famine and malnutrition.
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