Raed Salem Aslyieh, left, from Jabaliya, hugs his relatives after the death of his son, Ahmed Raed Aslyieh, 18, who succumbed to injuries sustained in an Israeli strike that killed eight other family members four months earlier, worsened by a lack of proper treatment due to medicine shortages, at the morgue of Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, on Wednesday. (AP photo)

JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday defended a new military offensive in Gaza that’s more sweeping than previously announced, declaring in the face of growing condemnation at home and abroad that Israel “has no choice but to finish the job and complete the defeat of Hamas.”

Even as more Israelis express concern over the 22-month war, Netanyahu said the security Cabinet last week instructed the dismantling of Hamas strongholds not only in Gaza City but also in the “central camps” and Muwasi. A source familiar with the operation, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media, confirmed that Israel plans it in both areas.

The crowded camps — sheltering well over a half-million displaced people, according to the U.N. — had not been part of Israel’s announcement Friday. It was not clear why, though Netanyahu faced criticism this weekend within his ruling coalition that targeting Gaza City was not enough. Netanyahu said there would be “safe zones,” but such designated areas have been bombed in the past.

Netanyahu spoke with Trump about plan

Netanyahu’s office late Sunday said he had spoken with U.S. President Donald Trump about the plan and thanked him for his “steadfast support.”

Rejecting starvation in Gaza as well as a “global campaign of lies,” Netanyahu spoke to foreign media just before an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council, a platform for outrage but little action on the war.

“Our goal is not to occupy Gaza, our goal is to free Gaza,” Netanyahu asserted.

Netanyahu said there is a “fairly short timetable” for next steps there, but didn’t give specifics. The goals, he said, include demilitarizing the territory, the Israeli military having “overriding security control” and a non-Israeli civilian administration in charge.

Israel wants to increase the number of aid distribution sites in Gaza, he said, but in a later briefing to local media, he asserted: “There is no hunger. There was no hunger. There was a shortage, and there was certainly no policy of starvation.”

U.S. defends Israel at Security Council meeting

The United States defended Israel, saying it has the right to decide what’s best for its security. It called allegations of genocide in Gaza false.

The U.S. has veto power at the council and can block proposed actions there.

Other council members, and U.N. officials, expressed alarm. China called the “collective punishment” of people in Gaza unacceptable. Russia warned against a “reckless intensification of hostilities.”

“This is no longer a looming hunger crisis; this is starvation,” said Ramesh Rajasingham with the U.N. humanitarian office. “Humanitarian conditions are beyond horrific. We have frankly run out of words to describe it.”

More Palestinians killed as they seek aid

At least 31 Palestinians were killed while seeking aid in Gaza, hospitals and witnesses said. The Associated Press spoke to witnesses of gunfire in the Israeli-controlled Morag and Netzarim corridors and the Teina area in the south. All accused Israeli forces of firing at crowds trying to reach food distributions or waiting for convoys.

Fifteen people were killed while waiting for trucks near the Morag corridor that separates the southern cities of Rafah and Khan Younis, according to Nasser hospital.

The situation is a “death trap,” said Jamal al-Laweh, who said Israeli forces opened fire there. “But I have no other choice to feed the kids.”

Labor strike urged in Israel over looming offensive

Hostages’ relatives have urged a labor strike in Israel next week over the plans to expand military operations, fearing it will endanger their loved ones. Fifty hostages remain after being taken in the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023, that sparked the war. Twenty are believed to be alive.

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Shurafa reported from Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, and Magdy from Cairo. Associated Press writers Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel; Sally Abou AlJoud in Beirut; Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations and Jamey Keaten in Geneva contributed.

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Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war