Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has defended his plans to take over additional areas of the Gaza Strip, saying Israel would move “quickly” to evacuate and then seize Gaza City, as well as a cluster of refugee camps in the enclave’s middle region.

Israel, he said at a news conference in Jerusalem, would ultimately have “overriding security responsibility” for Gaza, while helping set up a civilian administration that excludes both Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, which is based in Ramallah, located in the West Bank.

Netanyahu’s security cabinet approved a plan last week to expand military operations in the territory, but stopped short of backing a proposal for full occupation. The Israeli military’s chief of staff, Eyal Zamir, opposed the prime minister’s push to capture and hold indefinitely the few areas outside of Israel’s control.

When asked if it was “the right move” for Israel to take over Gaza, US Vice-President JD Vance said that it was “up to Benjamin Netanyahu”.

“Obviously, there are a lot of downsides, a lot of upsides to that,” he said, speaking on Fox News. He added: “The president has been very clear that you do have a humanitarian crisis ... a lot of innocent people who are really struggling and we want to make sure that the people of Gaza are able to get food, able to get medicine and so forth.”

The Israel Defense Forces – which launched its campaign after the Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023 – says it already controls 75% of Gaza, where nearly 2 million Palestinians have been displaced multiple times since the start of the war. The destruction is so vast that many residents are living in crowded tent camps or in the rubble of their homes.

In recent weeks, Gaza has seen a rising number of deaths from malnutrition and starvation. An Israeli blockade on all food to Gaza was partially lifted in May, with an increase in aid deliveries last month, but humanitarian workers and hunger experts say it is not enough to reverse the famine that is now unfolding.

Palestinians wait to receive hot meals with their pots and pans in Deir Al Balah, Gaza. Photo / Anadolu via Getty Images

On Sunday, the Gaza Health Ministry said it recorded another five deaths from malnutrition, bringing the total number of such deaths to 217, including 100 children. In a statement, the humanitarian organisation Save the Children called the toll “a devastating milestone that shames the world”.

“What kind of a world have we built to let at least 100 children be starved to death while the food, water and medical supplies to save them wait just miles away at a border crossing?” said Ahmad Alhendawi, Save the Children’s regional director for the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe.

Netanyahu rebuffed accusations Sunday that Israel was deliberately starving Palestinians in Gaza and claimed some of the recent images of malnourished children in Gaza were “fake” because they had underlying conditions. “But, there was a problem of deprivation, no question about it,” Netanyahu added.

Doctors have said the fact that some starving children have chronic diseases makes their treatment all the more urgent.

“This was a wholly predictable and avoidable tragedy that humanitarian organisations have been warning about for months,” Alhendawi said. “We knew this would happen; no one can say they didn’t.”