How the world is reacting to Israel’s plan to take over Gaza City

Israel’s Gaza escalation sparks global outcry with leaders warning of devastating humanitarian consequences.

Israel’s security cabinet has approved a plan to seize control of Gaza City, triggering growing international condemnation, with world leaders warning of dire humanitarian consequences.

The plan to take over Gaza’s largest city was announced on Friday, a day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel intended to take military control of the entire Gaza Strip.

Israel’s plan to expand its assault on Gaza is expected to worsen the humanitarian devastation in the besieged enclave, triggering a further wave of mass displacements during a hunger crisis.

Here is how the world is reacting to the Israeli plan:

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is “gravely alarmed” by Israel’s decision to take control of Gaza City.

“This decision marks a dangerous escalation and risks deepening the already catastrophic consequences for millions of Palestinians” and Israeli captives in Gaza, his office said in a statement, adding that further escalation will lead to “additional forced displacement, killings and massive destruction”.

The statement reiterated Guterres’s “urgent appeal for a permanent ceasefire”.

“The secretary general once again strongly urges the Government of Israel to abide by its obligations under international law,” it added.

The Palestinian presidency condemned Netanyahu’s announcement that Israel intends to seize full control of the Gaza Strip.

“This is a complete crime,” the office of President Mahmoud Abbas said, describing it as a continuation of “genocide, systematic killing, starvation and siege”, according to a report by the Palestinian news agency Wafa.

The presidency warned that Israel’s actions would lead to an “unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe”.

Hamas warned that the Israeli government’s decision to escalate the war would amount to “sacrificing” the captives being held in Gaza.

“The decision to occupy Gaza confirms that the criminal Netanyahu and his Nazi government do not care about the fate of their captives,” the group said in a statement. “They understand that expanding the aggression means sacrificing them.”

UN secretary-general

The Palestinian armed group said Israel’s plans to expand its assault on Gaza were “a new chapter in the war of extermination”.

In a statement, the group said, “The Zionist entity’s government is preparing to escalate its massacres in Gaza,” adding, “We hold Arab governments and the West responsible for curbing this escalation.”

Israel’s decision to take over Gaza City “must have consequences for EU-Israel relations”, EU Council President Antonio Costa said, urging the Israeli government to reconsider.

“Not only [does the decision] violate the agreement with the EU announced by the High Representative on July 19 but also undermines fundamental principles of international law and universal values,” Costa, who heads the European Council that represents EU member states, added in a statement on X.

Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the European Union’s executive branch, said Israel must reconsider its plan to take control of Gaza City.

“The Israeli government’s decision to further extend its military operation in Gaza must be reconsidered,” she wrote on X.

The foreign ministers of Australia, Germany, Italy, New Zealand and the United Kingdom condemned Israel’s plan in a joint statement late on Friday, saying it risked “violating international humanitarian law”.

It will also “aggravate the catastrophic humanitarian situation, endanger the lives of the hostages, and further risk the mass displacement of civilians”.

“Any attempts at annexation or of settlement extension violate international law,” the statement added.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer called Israel’s decision to step up military operations in Gaza “wrong” and urged restraint.

“The Israeli government’s decision to further escalate its offensive in Gaza is wrong, and we urge it to reconsider immediately,” he said.

“This action will do nothing to bring an end to this conflict or to help secure the release of the hostages. It will only bring more bloodshed.”