Netanyahu defends Gaza City plan as UN warns of ‘calamity’ and starvation

Israeli PM says taking over city is best way' to end war, despite condemnation from within Israel and around world

Benjamin Netanyahu has defended his plan to take control of Gaza City in the face of widespread international outrage, even as senior UN officials warned that the move risked unleashing another calamity" on a territory already experiencing starvation, pure and simple".

In a rare press conference with foreign journalists in Jerusalem, the Israeli prime minister said the plan, signed off last week by the security cabinet to criticism both at home and abroad, was the best way to end the war and the best way to end it speedily."