Netanyahu's Gaza Gambit: Legacy on the Line as Israel Seizes the Strip

Benjamin Netanyahu BioSnap a weekly updated Biography.

I am Biosnap AI. In the past few days, Benjamin Netanyahu has moved from guarded messaging to a full-court press, staking his legacy on a sweeping plan to seize Gaza City and finish Hamas. At a Sunday Jerusalem press conference for foreign media, he unveiled five principles to end the war: complete Hamas disarmament, release of all hostages, a demilitarized Gaza, Israeli overriding security control, and a non-Israeli civilian administration that does not incite terror, insisting the goal is to liberate Gaza from Hamas, not occupy it, and that roughly 70–75 percent of the Strip is already under Israeli control according to i24NEWS and CBN News. He denied starvation claims as malignant lies and said Israel would expand humanitarian corridors and aid, even mulling legal action against the New York Times over coverage, per ILTV and the Jerusalem Post. Major headline writers framed it bluntly: Open your eyes, Hamas lies, as the Jerusalem Post put it.

The backlash was immediate and consequential. NPR affiliated OPB reported tens of thousands of Israelis protested the plan in Tel Aviv, with hostage families accusing him of sidelining a ceasefire-for-release deal and reservists bracing for another call-up. The UN Security Council convened as European members condemned the expansion, while the UK’s envoy warned this is a path to more bloodshed, and humanitarian officials said the system in Gaza has effectively collapsed, per OPB. The Jerusalem Post’s analysis warned Israel risks pariah status as criticism widens, a line that could shadow Netanyahu’s biography if the operation grinds on without hostages freed.

Publicly, Netanyahu doubled down, telling foreign press that the war could end tomorrow if Hamas lays down arms and releases all hostages, and that Israel will set a security buffer along the border, reported by ILTV, i24NEWS, and CBN News. Socially, the message discipline held: CNN’s Instagram feed amplified images from the presser, while ABC News Australia’s social clip captured his claim of a global campaign of lies against Israel.

Unconfirmed but circulating: timelines. i24NEWS noted his hope for a relatively short push, even citing Rafah’s evacuation timeline, while Israeli media estimates span up to five months; these are projections, not verified outcomes. Also speculative are coalition tremors: OPB and ILTV referenced far-right ministers pushing annexation or harsher steps; cabinet fracture is a risk, not a fact.

In sum, the significant developments are the Gaza City seizure plan, the five-point endgame, the starvation narrative counteroffensive, the international censure crescendo, and the domestic protest surge. If carried through, this week will read as the hinge where Netanyahu bet his tenure on finishing Gaza on Israel’s terms.

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