New Delhi, Aug. 8 -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday (August 7) that Israel plans to take military control of the entire Gaza Strip, signaling an escalation in the nearly two-year-old war despite mounting international and domestic opposition.

In an interview with Fox News, Netanyahu was asked whether Israel aimed to take over all of Gaza. He responded, "We intend to," adding, "We don't want to keep it. We want to have a security perimeter. We don't want to govern it. We don't want to be there as a governing body."

He suggested that Arab forces could take over governance of the territory once Hamas is dismantled, though he provided no further details on who might be involved or what the arrangement would look ...