Israel’s Security Cabinet approved a plan to take over Gaza City and eventually implement “Israeli security control” of the entire Gaza Strip, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement early Friday.
Why It Matters
Friday’s decision by the Security Cabinet capped months of failed ceasefire talks between Netanyahu’s government and Hamas, with both sides accusing each other of repeated violations.
Israel has also faced increased international pressure to reach a ceasefire deal, as Hamas released videos showing emaciated Israeli hostages being held in Gaza, which the group said was the result of Israel’s blockade of humanitarian aid to the war-torn territory.
Netanyahu said after the videos were released that he would convene a cabinet meeting to discuss how Israel can meet the three main goals he set out for the war: defeating Hamas, returning the hostages and ensuring Gaza doesn’t pose a threat to Israel.
What To Know
“The Security Cabinet has approved the Prime Minister’s proposal for defeating Hamas,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement posted to X, formerly Twitter, early Friday, local time. “The [Israel Defense Forces] will prepare for taking control of Gaza City while distributing humanitarian assistance to the civilian population outside the combat zones.”
Netanyahu’s office added that a majority of the Security Cabinet adopted “five principles for concluding the war”: disarming Hamas, having all hostages—living and dead—returned to Israel, the “demilitarization of the Gaza Strip,” Israeli “security control in the Gaza Strip,” and the “establishment of an alternative civil administration that is neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority.”
Friday’s vote by Israel’s Security Cabinet came after Netanyahu said Israel planned to occupy all of the Gaza Strip and eventually hand over control of it to friendly Arab forces opposed to Hamas.
Fox News’ Bill Hemmer asked Netanyahu in a Thursday interview before the cabinet meeting whether Israel will take control of the full 26-mile coastal enclave.
“We intend to,” the Israeli leader responded. He emphasized that the goal is not to occupy Gaza permanently, but to remove Hamas and allow for new leadership “that is not Hamas and not anyone advocating the destruction of Israel.”
“We don’t want to keep it. We want to have a security perimeter. We don’t want to govern it. We want to hand it over to Arab forces that will govern it properly,” he said.
But the prime minister has also faced additional opposition, including from within his own country, to increasing the IDF’s operations in the Gaza Strip. Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched its counteroffensive in the territory following Hamas’ devastating October 7, 2023, attack that claimed the lives of as many as 1,200 Israelis, most of whom were civilians.
Expanding military operations in Gaza would put the lives of countless Palestinians and the roughly 20 remaining Israeli hostages at risk while further isolating Israel internationally. Israel already controls around three quarters of the devastated territory.
This is a breaking news story. Updates to follow.
The Associated Press contributed reporting to this article.
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