China's ambassador to the United Nations on Sunday sharply criticized Israel's plan to take control of Gaza City, warning it would deepen the humanitarian disaster in the enclave and undermine prospects for peace. "There will be no invasion-that is rejected, absolutely rejected," Chinese envoy Fu Cong told the UN Security Council at an emergency meeting in New York. "Gaza belongs to the Palestinian people and is an integral part of the Palestinian territory. Any attempt to alter Gaza's demographic and territorial structure must be firmly resisted."
The meeting came after Israel's Security Cabinet approved a plan to capture Gaza City, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended as the fastest way to end the war. "Contrary to false claims, this is the best way to end the war and the best way to end it speedily," Netanyahu told international media. "This is how we bring the war to an end."
United Nations officials warned the plan could trigger "another calamity" in Gaza, where hunger-related deaths are rising. Miroslav Jenča, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia and the Americas, said implementation "will likely trigger another calamity in Gaza, reverberating across the region and causing further forced displacement, killings, and destruction."
Ramesh Rajasingham, head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Geneva, told the council that "this is starvation, pure and simple." Since October 2023, 98 children have died from severe acute malnutrition, including 37 since July 1, according to Gaza health authorities.
International condemnation came from the United Kingdom, Russia, China, and France, as well as Denmark, South Korea, Greece, Slovenia, Guyana, and Algeria. "After twenty-two months of forced displacement, starvation and ethnic cleansing, such an operation would not merely ruin Gaza, it would annihilate what remains of it," Algeria said.
The United States stood apart from most allies, with Ambassador Dorothy Shea accusing some Security Council members of "actively prolonging the war by spreading lies about Israel" and calling genocide allegations "politically motivated and categorically false." She said the war could end immediately "if Hamas let the hostages and all of Gaza go free."
Hamas rejected Netanyahu's claims that the operation would aid hostage recovery, saying the "only way to ensure their survival is to halt the aggression and reach an agreement, not to continue bombing and blockade."
Despite mounting criticism, Netanyahu said Gaza City and nearby central camps are "the two remaining strongholds" of Hamas and reiterated that Israel must "finish the job." Israel's military already controls about 75% of Gaza after nearly two years of conflict.
UNICEF reported nearly 12,000 acutely malnourished children in Gaza in July, the highest monthly figure ever recorded. Netanyahu denied there is a starvation crisis, blaming Hamas for looting aid and "deliberately creating a shortage of supplies."
According to the Israeli Prime Minister's Office, Netanyahu spoke Sunday with U.S. President Donald Trump about "plans to take control of the remaining Hamas strongholds in Gaza" and thanked him for "steadfast support" since the war began.
