'Unhinged' Netanyahu waging 'disaster' in Gaza as over 100 killed in aid tragedy
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right allies in government are waging a "disastrous" war in Gaza, which will have severe consequences for Palestinians and the Israeli hostages still in captivity, an expert has warned.
This comes as more than 100 people were killed and at least 700 wounded, after witnesses claimed Israeli troops opened fire on a crowd of people scrambling for aid in Gaza City.
The humanitarian situation in the besieged Gaza Strip is at breaking point with reports of children being left to starve to death.
Speaking to The Mirror, Dr Andreas Krieg, Associate Professor of Security Studies at King's College London, explained that Israeli war aims are still far from complete and are facing a strategic disaster with Ramadan starting on March 10.
He said: "There's a slight chance before Ramadan the Israelis will come to their senses but again we're not talking about a rational actor.
Labour MP apologises for branding Israeli government 'fascist' in Parliament"Netanyahu and the guys in his cabinet, the far-right fundamentalists, don't care about these things.
"This is a war between two radical fronts - Hamas and the far-right Jewish fundamentalists in the Net government. They're equally dehumanising, they're equally radical, they're equally un-compromising and they're equally willing to sacrifice everything in the pursuit of their objectives. It's entirely irrational."
More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed and over 70,000 wounded in the Gaza Strip since Israel’s war on Hamas began nearly five months ago, health officials in the territory said.
The UN says a quarter of Gaza’s 2.3 million Palestinians face starvation; around 80 percent have fled their homes.
The war began after Hamas-led militants stormed across southern Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking about 250 others hostage.
Although some have been killed or rescued, others remain in captivity. But Dr Krieg revealed that Netanyahu is just trying to cling to power as his popularity wanes inside Israel.
He said: "For Netanyahu it's a disaster. Seventh October was a disaster. The war in Gaza is a disaster. It's an international reputation disaster for Israel.
"But he thinks if he can bring the head of Hamas on a silver platter then most people internally will say: 'It wasn't too bad what happened.' And so it's willing to sit it out. He's got everything to lose so him sitting and waiting and running Israel into the ground is a risk he's willing to take.
"It will be disastrous for the people of Rafah. But also there are the hostages."
Arab nations have failed to get immediate support for a U.N. Security Council statement that would have blamed Israeli forces for opening fire at Palestinians waiting for the delivery of food and other humanitarian aid near Gaza City and killing over 100 people.
Gunmen shoot dead 7 outside synagogue as violence escalates in Jerusalem terrorWitnesses said Israeli troops fired on a large crowd of Palestinians racing to pull food off an aid convoy on Thursday. More than 100 people were killed in the chaos, bringing the death toll since the start of the Israel-Hamas war to over 30,000, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
Dr Krieg also said that Israel is far behind on their objectives. He said: "Israel is still far far behind in terms of achieving military objectives. Considering we're 150 days into the operation, only 20 - 30 percent of Hamas fighters have been killed. Which considering the destruction and death among the civilian population, it's an outrageously small number."