Israel on Wednesday gave final approval to build in E1, a tract east of Jerusalem long frozen under U.S. pressure.
The project, seen as severing the main north–south corridor in the occupied West Bank, was condemned as a blow to prospects for Palestinian statehood.
Last year, the International Court of Justice said Israel should end settlement activity and its occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza as soon as possible.
Israeli ultranationalist Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a former settler leader, hailed the move as a repudiation of recent European decisions to recognize Palestinian statehood.
“The Palestinian state is being erased from the table not with slogans but with actions,” he said, calling each new housing unit “another nail in the coffin of this dangerous idea.”
Several countries, including the UK and the Netherlands, have recently sanctioned Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir over incitement of settler violence.
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy called the E1 approval “a flagrant breach of international law” on X. Germany’s Foreign Ministry also “strongly” rejected it, saying settlement construction violates international law and relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions.
E1’s location is one of the last geographic links between Ramallah in the north and Bethlehem in the south. Though just 22 km apart, Palestinians must detour through multiple Israeli checkpoints, often for hours. E1 was seen as a future direct link in any eventual state.
Israel’s settlement expansion comes amid rising settler violence on Palestinians, evictions, military operations and checkpoints that further restrict movement in the West Bank.
Gaza City offensive begins
Separately, the Israeli military said it has begun the first stage of its plan to seize Gaza City, the enclave’s largest urban center. Military spokesperson Brigadier General Effie Defrin said forces were “holding the outskirts of Gaza City.” Israel is calling up 60,000 reservists and extending service for 20,000 more as it ramps up operations.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was expected to give final approval for the expanded push at a security cabinet meeting on Thursday night, an official said.
Operational preparations
The army has been calling medical officials and international organizations in northern Gaza to urge evacuations ahead of the operation, which could begin within days.
Israeli troops are already operating in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighborhood and in Jabaliya to set conditions, the official said, noting parts of Hamas are regrouping and launching rockets despite losses among its senior leaders.
U.N. appeal and humanitarian concerns
The planned offensive comes amid intensified criticism of restrictions on food and medicine entering Gaza and fears of further mass displacement and famine.
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres repeated his call on Thursday for an immediate ceasefire and the unconditional release of all hostages, warning of “massive death and destruction” from an assault on Gaza City and other populated areas.
Casualties and destruction
At least 36 Palestinians were killed in strikes in central and southern Gaza on Thursday, local hospitals said, while deaths from Wednesday’s strikes in northern Gaza rose by 39, according to Shifa hospital.
Al-Awda Hospital reported 19 killed in central Gaza, including people seeking aid and others sheltering in schools. Nasser Hospital in the south said at least nine were killed trying to access aid and eight in a strike near Khan Younis.
In Deir al-Balah, airstrikes destroyed at least 100 tents housing displaced families, al-Aqsa Hospital said. The Israeli military had no immediate comment but has often accused Hamas of embedding military sites in civilian areas.
War toll and hostages
Gaza’s Health Ministry said the war’s death toll has reached 62,192, adding that women and children comprise about half. It said starvation and malnutrition deaths rose to 271, including 112 children.
The ministry, part of the Hamas-run administration, does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but the U.N. and many independent experts view its figures as the most reliable wartime estimate; Israel disputes the toll and has not provided its own.
The decades-long conflict was reignited when Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on October 7, 2023. The attack killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251. Most hostages have since been released; Hamas says the remainder will be freed only under a lasting ceasefire and Israeli withdrawal.
(jh)
Source: Euronews, Associated Press, BBC, CNN