Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says pressure on "Israel" was “approaching a red line,” necessitating the resumption of aid into Gaza to press ahead with its ground assault.

“[US] Senators I know as supporters of Israel… come to me and say, ‘We’ll give you all the help you need to win the war… but we can’t be receiving pictures of famine [in Gaza],” Netanyahu said in a video released on his personal Telegram channel.

The Israeli occupation announced that "minimal aid" must be distributed in the Strip to prevent mass starvation among the civilian population.

“In order to complete our victory, to defeat Hamas and free the hostages, we cannot reach a point of famine,” he says, directing his talk to settlers who are opposing his decision to resume the humanitarian aid, which has been cut off since early March. “They won’t support us.”

However, Netanyahu did threaten that "Israel is going to take over all of Gaza, that’s what we are going to do.”

Netanyahu to allow aid into Gaza under US pressure 

On that note, he announced on Sunday evening the limited and immediate entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, a decision made amid intensifying pressure from the United States and mounting international criticism over widespread famine in the besieged territory.

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The announcement was delivered during a meeting of the Israeli occupation’s security cabinet but was made without a formal vote, a move reportedly aimed at avoiding a likely failure to secure majority approval within the far-right-dominated forum.

According to Israeli media, the meeting was promptly adjourned after Netanyahu made the declaration. Although ministers voiced their positions, no vote was held. Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir demanded a vote on the decision, but his request was denied.

Following the announcement, Netanyahu, Government Secretary Yossi Fuchs, and Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir abruptly exited the meeting. The military had presented an operational report, and ministers were allowed brief commentary before the session was sealed off.

Smotrich defends return of aid in another political stunt

In a turn of events, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich argued that assistance going into Gaza will not reach Hamas, defending his decision to remain in the government despite previous threats to bolt over the issue.

“This is not surrendering to pressure; it is doing the right thing to continue to focus primarily on destroying Hamas,” he stressed in a televised statement, adding that “no aid is going to Hamas, period.”

The far-right official stressed that he insisted on stopping “thousands of trucks of aid that Hamas was seizing [and selling], and from which it profited by over a billion dollars.” However, he argues that sending aid is necessary to end what he alleges are "lies of starvation", completely disregarding the tens and hundreds starving to death in the besiged enclave. 

He claims that, under new arrangements he demanded, a separate private mechanism will manage the delivery of only the "minimum necessary" food and medical supplies to Gaza’s population, aimed at preventing international backlash or war crimes accusations. His statement contradicts other officials who maintain that existing aid distribution systems will remain in use until the new one is operational.

"It will allow civilians to eat, for our friends in the world to continue to provide us with an international umbrella of protection against the Security Council and the Hague Tribunal, and for us to continue to fight, God willing, until victory," Smotrich states.

"What will come in the coming days is a little bit to the bakeries that distribute pitas to people and public kitchens that provide a daily ration of cooked food. Civilians in Gaza will receive a pita and a plate of food, and that is it."