Name: What does 'taking over Gaza City' exactly mean? | DW News
Uploaded: 2025-11-18T16:58:15.000Z
Duration: 21 min 22 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

Israel's military says that it has entered the first stages of its planned assault on Gaza City.

Adverbs of degree

That it already has had skirmishes rather with Hamas fighters on the outskirts of the city.

The development comes just hours after Israel's Defense Minister approved a deployment plan to take over the area.

The plan sees some extra 60,000 reservists being called up for the operation.

Human rights groups warn the offensive will worsen an already dire humanitarian crisis as it takes place in some of Gaza's most densely populated areas.

Palestinians in Gaza are now facing the possibility of again being displaced.

In the aftermath of an Israeli strike on a displacement camp in Gaza City, Israel has been continuing its strikes on the city and the surrounding areas, prompting thousands of people to flee south.

Earlier this week offered a moment of hope when Hamas said it would accept a new ceasefire proposal.

Israel says it is not interested in, quote, partial deals and called for the release of all the hostages still being held by Hamas.

Then came the news that Israel's Defense Minister has approved a plan to widen operations and seize Gaza City, which it believes is Hamas main political and military stronghold.

With Israeli tanks lining up on the border and tens of thousands of reservists being called up, Gazans are worried.

We try to be optimistic about the war ending, but

suddenly we've lost hope and any talk of a deal is no longer useful.

Hamas agrees to a deal, Israel refuses, and vice versa.

waking up to the news that 60,000 soldiers are entering the Gaza Strip, this is very, very, very catastrophic news.

As always, every day we come here for food, but without receiving anything.

While the ceasefire proposal has not been officially rejected, optimism, like many things here in Gaza, is in very short supply.

Well, our coverage continues now with our senior international correspondent, Fanny Fitzhar.

Fanny, what does taking over Gaza City mean?

I mean, what is the Israeli military planning to do?

Basically, seizing, occupying more and more territory of the Gaza Strip, and

most of it is already under Israel's control.

But their latest push here, moving in, wanting to move in into Gaza City and seizing what they consider the last biggest remaining stronghold of not only Hamas militants, but

various militant groups, is of course an escalation if really this offensive is going to move ahead.

But everything, even though there is some, some cautious optimism here on the streets of Jerusalem, among some people I've been speaking to today, that maybe there's still a ceasefire possible.

What you see with regard to the statements made by Israeli authorities today by Israel's Defense Minister, it is to give a green light and to push into Gaza City and obviously that means on the ground for the Palestinians.

Looking at the fact that around 1 million, 1 million people are estimated to be in and around Gaza City, it's very densely populated.

So the first question comes to your mind, how do you want to root out Hamas militants believed to be in a vast tunnel system without harming civilians?

But this is exactly what Israel is keen to do.

Pushing ahead with their plan, calling up on 60,000 reservists that are supposed to report to duty by September 2nd.

Some people still hope, maybe there's still about 10 days until that, maybe there's still time to reach a cease fire deal with Hamas militants, which would actually mean a six day truce.

But really everything looks more towards escalation then looking towards winding down the planned military operations.

And funny, these 60,000 additional reservists, I mean this is a major deployment that we're talking about.

Does the idf, does the Israeli military, does it enjoy broad public support for a measure like this?

I mean, as we understand it, criticism of the war in Gaza is surging among Israelis.

It's really interesting to look at numbers actually, because when I started covering post October 7, 2023 and looking at polls back then, it was about 10 to 20% of Israelis who opposed the start of the Gaza war and the ongoing Gaza war.

Now we are speaking about 60 to 70% of Israelis who say this should end.

And what I find quite interesting, these are not only ordinary citizens but or relatives of hostages who are still being held captive in the Gaza Strip, but

also people who used to serve in the Israeli military or in the Israeli Air Force who say this is an endless war, there's no clear strategy behind it, let's end it.

The other one is among reservists who are to report to duty.

Why is it that ultra Orthodox Jews do not have to report, even though the Supreme Court has made a decision last year to make sure that this is fair and everybody needs to report it's hardly implemented or just to a very limited degree that everyone, one, including also Orthodox Jews, also need to report?

So certainly it's going to be debated much more playing out on the streets, more protests against ongoing Gaza war.

Only who in the Israeli government is going to listen?

But because what nearly two years of the ongoing conflict has shown that there's more escalation and no prospect of actually a long term cease fire that then would move towards an end, a complete end of the Gaza war.

And finally, we want to move now from the Gaza Strip to the occupied West Bank.

Israel's government today granted final approval for a controversial settlement in the occupied west bank that effectively cuts the area in two.

The E1 block backs up to the already large settlement of Mal Adunim, which along with other settlements is considered illegal under international law.

Israeli settlement in E1 has been under consideration for more than 20 years, but

was shelved following pressure from previous US administrations.

Palestinians and human rights groups say settlements in the area could end any hope for a future Palestinian state.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to maintain indefinite control over the occupied west bank, annexed East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.

I want to ask you, how is this being reported inside Israel?

I mean, are Israelis being told that these settlements will be yet another hurdle to creating any potential future Palestinian state?

Well, if you watch the ordinary channels here in Israel, certainly not.

But it's rather portrayed as something coming close to what's being called as a victory, especially amongst also which echoes with far right politicians in the far right coalition government.

Smotrich, the finance Minister, saying last week that going ahead with this E1 settlement plan basically buries the idea of any Palestinian state or the prospect of it.

He even said there's nothing and no one to recognize last week.

What we hear from Palestinians speaking in the occupied west bank is that they're really concerned the more this ongoing Gaza war escalates, the less space they also have in the occupied West Bank.

So we're not only speaking about an expansion of control in the Gaza Strip, but

also in the occupied west bank, which as you just pointed out, is considered illegal under international law.

Something that's been also the opinion by the United nations and the International Court of Justice.

Regardless of that, it really looks like that the current government is very much emboldened and feels this is their momentum to press ahead with this controversial plan and if really put in action.

We're speaking here about thousands of apartments being built in a place in an area near Jerusalem, just east of Jerusalem, that is actually considered to be part of a future Palestinian state.

And while we hear a lot of condemnation internationally, we did not hear any condemnation, any objection to this plan by Israel's biggest support, and

Probably even more moves like that, more settlements.

As long as Israel really feels on A political level that they can go ahead with that and there's no one really stopping them from doing that.

Our senior international correspondent, Funny to charge with the latest from Jerusalem for us tonight.

Or to further impact the plans for a new settlement in the occupied West Bank, I'm joined now by Mustafa Barghouti.

He's a Palestinian politician and civil rights activist.

Let me just get your reaction to news about this, this E1 block and what was decided today.

First of all, that Israel is led by a fascist government that is absolutely extreme and their whole plan is about eliminating the presence of the Palestinian people.

Second, it tells you that Israel would not have dared to go that far in violating international law if it wasn't for the status of impunity they are enjoying, thanks to the American support and thanks to the fact that European countries are abstaining from imposing any sanctions on Israel.

Third, this act means the final blow to the whole idea of two state solution or peace based on two state solutions.

Why do you say this is the final blow to the two state solution?

Because this settlement will simply cut the west bank, shatter it into two pieces without any kind of control.

You can't have a Palestinian state on the west bank and Gaza if West bank has no contiguity of its parts.

Second, because this act will isolate Jerusalem, which should become the capital of the Palestinian state, it will isolate it completely from the rest of the occupied West Bank.

And finally, this act will displace thousands more of Palestinian people and destroy many Palestinian communities in the vicinity, in the area, making these people refugees again.

So if you put that all together, this of course undermines completely the possibility for Palestinian state.

Subtitles ListPlay Video

What does 'taking over Gaza City' exactly mean? | DW News

controversial

basically

revenue

exclusive