The privately owned Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, citing unnamed informed political sources, said the resolution avoided using the word "occupation" and instead used "control" for legal reasons, but acknowledged that the actual goal was to occupy the Gaza Strip.
The concerns that Benjamin Netanyahu's government has evaded, leading to the replacement of the term, relate to international legal responsibility toward civilians in the Gaza Strip, according to the sources.
Under the Geneva Conventions and international humanitarian law, if Israel acknowledges that it "occupies" Gaza, it will be legally bound by the full duties of an occupying power, including providing services, ensuring public order, and bearing direct responsibility for any damages or violations, potentially opening the door to international accountability or prosecution in the International Criminal Court.
In the same vein, the New York Times, citing unnamed Israeli security officials, reported that gaining full control of the Gaza Strip could require five years of fighting.
Meanwhile, satellite images published by the American NBC channel showed the Israeli occupation army amassing its forces and equipment near the border with Gaza, indicating the imminent launch of a large-scale operation.
On Friday morning, the cabinet approved Netanyahu's plan to occupy the entire Gaza Strip. Netanyahu's office reported that the army was "preparing to take control of Gaza City and distribute humanitarian aid to civilians outside combat zones," according to the statement.
On Thursday evening, during a cabinet meeting, Netanyahu presented a "gradual" plan to reoccupy the Gaza Strip, despite opposition from the military establishment due to the threat it poses to the lives of prisoners and soldiers.
The plan calls for the Israeli occupation army to begin moving into areas it has not previously entered, "with the aim of seizing control" of the central Gaza Strip and Gaza City, despite warnings from Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir against such a move.
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According to Netanyahu's proposal, the plan would begin with the displacement of Gaza City's Palestinians southward, followed by the encirclement of the city, followed by additional incursions into population centers, according to the official Israeli Broadcasting Authority.
During the ongoing Israeli genocide in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, the Israeli occupation army occupied all of Gaza City, with the exception of small areas, and remained there for several months before withdrawing from most of its areas in April 2024 after announcing the "destruction of Hamas's infrastructure in the city."
Of the entire Gaza Strip, parts of Deir al-Balah city and the camps in the central governorate (Nuseirat, Maghazi, and Bureij) remained unoccupied by Israeli forces, but hundreds of buildings there were destroyed, according to Palestinian officials.
The areas not occupied by Israeli forces on the ground represent only about 10-15% of the Gaza Strip's area, according to local officials.
Tel Aviv estimates there are 50 Israeli prisoners in Gaza, 20 of whom are still alive. Meanwhile, more than 10,800 Palestinians are languishing in its prisons, suffering torture, starvation, and medical neglect, many of whom have died, according to Palestinian and Israeli human rights and media reports.
Fifty-two percent of Israelis hold their government fully or partially responsible for the failure to reach an agreement with Hamas, according to a poll published Sunday by the Israeli Institute for National Security Studies.
With American support, Israel has been committing genocide in Gaza since October 7, 2023, including killing, starvation, destruction, and forced displacement, ignoring all international calls and orders from the International Court of Justice to halt it.
The genocide left 61,258 Palestinians dead, 152,045 injured, and more than 9,000 missing. Hundreds of thousands were displaced, and famine claimed the lives of many, including dozens of children.
