The Japan Times - Netanyahu floats 'allowing' Palestinians out of Gaza as mediators renew truce push

Past calls to resettle Gazans outside of the war-battered territory, including from US President Donald Trump, have sparked concern among Palestinians and condemnation from the international community.

Netanyahu defended his war policies in a rare interview with Israeli media, broadcast shortly after Egypt said Gaza mediators were leading a renewed push to secure a 60-day truce.

The premier told Israeli broadcaster i24NEWS that "we are not pushing them out, but we are allowing them to leave".

"Give them the opportunity to leave, first of all, combat zones, and generally to leave the territory, if they want," he said, citing refugee outflows during wars in Syria, Ukraine and Afghanistan.

In the Gaza Strip, Israel for years has tightly controlled the borders and barred many from leaving.

"We will allow this, first of all within Gaza during the fighting, and we will certainly allow them to leave Gaza as well," Netanyahu said.

For Palestinians, any effort to push them force them off their land would recall the "Nakba", or catastrophe -- the mass displacement of Palestinians during Israel's creation in 1948.

Netanyahu has endorsed Trump's suggestion earlier this year to expel Gaza's more than two million people to Egypt and Jordan, while far-right Israeli ministers have called for their "voluntary" departure.

- Cairo talks -

Israel's plans to expand its offensive into Gaza City come as diplomacy aimed at securing an elusive ceasefire and hostage release deal in the 22-month-old war has stalled for weeks, after the latest round of negotiations broke down in July.

Egypt's Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty announced that Cairo was "working very hard now in full cooperation with the Qataris and Americans", aiming for "a ceasefire for 60 days, with the release of some hostages and some Palestinian detainees, and the flow of humanitarian and medical assistance to Gaza without restrictions, without conditions".

Two Palestinian sources told AFP that a senior Hamas delegation was due to meet Egyptian officials for talks on Wednesday.

One of the Palestinian sources earlier told AFP that the mediators were working "to formulate a new comprehensive ceasefire agreement proposal" that would include the release of all remaining hostages in Gaza "in one batch".

Netanyahu said in his interview he would oppose the staggered release of hostages, and instead would "want to return all of them as part of an end to the war -- but under our conditions".

Mediation efforts led by Qatar, Egypt and the United States have failed to secure a breakthrough since a short-lived truce earlier this year.

News of the potential truce talks came as Gaza's civil defence agency said Israel has intensified its air strikes on Gaza City in recent days, following the security cabinet's decision to expand the war there.

- Intensified strikes -

Netanyahu's government has not provided an exact timetable on when forces may enter the area, but civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said on Tuesday that air raids had already begun increasing over the past three days.

"The Israeli occupation is intensifying its bombardment" using "bombs, drones, and also highly explosive munitions that cause massive destruction", he said.

Bassal said that Israeli strikes across the territory, including on Gaza City, killed at least 33 people on Tuesday.

"The bombardment has been extremely intense for the past two days. With every strike, the ground shakes," said Majed al-Hosary, a resident of Gaza City's Zeitun neighbourhood.

An Israeli air strike on Sunday killed five Al Jazeera employees and a freelance reporter outside a Gaza City hospital, with Israel accusing one of the slain correspondents of being a Hamas militant.

Israel has faced mounting criticism over the war, which was triggered by Palestinian militant group Hamas's October 2023 attack.

UN-backed experts have warned of widespread famine unfolding in the territory, where Israel has drastically curtailed the amount of humanitarian aid it allowed in.

Hamas's 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Israel's offensive has killed at least 61,599 Palestinians, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, whose toll the United Nations considers reliable.

T.Maeda--JT