Israel seeking to 'ethnically cleanse' Gaza with 'full-scale invasion': US lawmaker

Israel is seeking to "ethnically cleanse" Palestinians from Gaza as it expands its invasion of the besieged coastal enclave, Democratic representative Rashida Tlaib said Monday.

"Israeli forces have begun a full-scale invasion to ethnically cleanse all Palestinians from Gaza," Tlaib, the first Palestinian woman to win election to Congress, wrote on X.

"War Criminal Netanyahu announced plans to forcibly expel the entire population and permanently occupy the land. This is the final stage of their genocide. World leaders must impose sanctions and a full arms embargo," she added.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier Monday said his forces will take over "all of Gaza," as he vowed to take control of the Palestinian territory.

Netanyahu, wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes, has kept all crossings into Gaza closed since March 2, deepening the enclave's humanitarian crisis. His office said Sunday that a "basic quantity of food" would be allowed in to prevent a hunger crisis.

Meanwhile, the UN said that nine trucks carrying humanitarian aid "were cleared" to enter the Gaza Strip via the Kerem Shalom crossing after Israel temporarily eased its nearly three-month blockade.

Tom Fletcher, the UN's emergency relief coordinator, welcomed the decision to allow some aid into Gaza, but emphasized that the amount authorized by Israel "is a drop in the ocean of what is urgently needed, and significantly more aid must be allowed into Gaza, starting tomorrow morning."

According to the UN, Gaza needs at least 500 aid trucks per day to meet the basic needs of roughly 2.2 million Palestinians living there.

Israel's indiscriminate offensive on Gaza has killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, following the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023 cross-border attack in which less than 1,200 people were killed.