Axios reported on its X platform that Netanyahu's office confirmed that the Israeli security cabinet had approved the prime minister's proposal, and that the Israeli army would prepare to take control of Gaza City.
During a meeting of the security cabinet on Thursday evening, Netanyahu presented a "gradual" plan to occupy the entire Gaza Strip, despite opposition from the military establishment due to the danger this poses to the lives of prisoners and soldiers, according to Hebrew media.
The official Israeli Broadcasting Authority said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented a "gradual plan to take control of the Gaza Strip" during a cabinet meeting on Thursday evening.
The agency quoted unnamed informed official sources as saying that Netanyahu presented what was described as a "soft and gradual plan" during a meeting "considered among the most sensitive since the start of the war, and dedicated to discussing the future of military operations" in the Gaza Strip.
According to the sources, the plan stipulates that "the Israeli army will begin moving into areas it has not previously entered, with the aim of seizing control of Hamas camps in the central Gaza Strip and Gaza City," he claimed, despite warnings from Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir against such a move.
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.
During the meeting, several ministers expressed their rejection of any solution that does not include the occupation of the entire Gaza Strip, while Shas (a religious extremist) party leader, Aryeh Deri (a cabinet member and minister without portfolio), warned against the continuation of the war.
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Deri considered Netanyahu's plan "causing ongoing political damage and endangering the lives of prisoners," calling for "listening to the army's assessments."
For his part, Chief of Staff Zamir reiterated his opposition to the plan to occupy all of Gaza, citing several considerations, "most notably: the danger to the lives of prisoners, the depletion of soldiers and reserve forces, and the harm to Israel's international legitimacy."
Tel Aviv estimates that 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.
On July 24, Israel withdrew from indirect negotiations with Hamas in Doha, following Tel Aviv's intransigence regarding the withdrawal from Gaza, ending the war, Palestinian prisoners, and the mechanism for distributing humanitarian aid.
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 a famine claimed the lives of many, including dozens of children.
