ANKARA

North Korea accused Israel on Thursday of explicitly seeking to seize Palestinian territories, criticizing its renewed strikes on the Gaza Strip

The state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) issued the commentary after the Israeli army renewed a deadly assault on Gaza on March 18, shattering a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement with the Palestinian group Hamas that took hold in January.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Wednesday that the military “will remain in the security zones as a buffer between the enemy and (Israeli) communities in any temporary or permanent situation in Gaza — as in Lebanon and Syria.”

Israel has closed Gaza's crossings since March 2, blocking the entry of essential supplies into enclave.

KCNA denounced Israel for harboring "ambitions to steal territory," saying the country is no longer hiding its intention to dominate Palestine.

It also accused the US of effectively ordering Israel's complete occupation of Gaza, referring to President Donald Trump's remarks that Gaza would be turned over to the US at the conclusion of the war.

The "reckless" military actions by US-backed Israel clearly demonstrate who is responsible for the destruction of global peace and security, it said.

At least 51,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in a brutal Israeli onslaught since October 2023, most of them women and children.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

*Writing by Aamir Latif