Jerusalem, August 9: Israel’s Security Cabinet has approved a plan to seize control of Gaza City, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Friday, marking a significant escalation in the 22-month war sparked by Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack.
Netanyahu said Israel intends to take full control of the Gaza Strip to destroy Hamas, before transferring its administration to “friendly Arab forces” that could govern the territory “properly” and without threatening Israel. “We don’t want to keep it. We want to have a security perimeter,” he told Fox News on Thursday.
The decision, reached after an overnight Cabinet meeting, comes as Israel already controls about three-quarters of Gaza. Military chief of staff Lt Gen Eyal Zamir and former senior security officials have warned that occupying the rest of the enclave would risk the lives of the roughly 20 Israeli hostages believed to be alive and put further strain on a military worn down by nearly two years of conflict.
Families of hostages protested outside the Cabinet meeting in Jerusalem and staged a maritime demonstration along Gaza’s coast, accusing Netanyahu of prolonging the war for political ends. Hamas-led militants abducted 251 people in the October 7 raid that killed about 1,200 in southern Israel; around 50 remain in captivity.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said more than 61,000 Palestinians have been killed since the start of Israel’s air and ground offensive, a toll the United Nations considers the most reliable available. At least 42 Palestinians were killed in southern Gaza on Thursday in airstrikes and shootings, local hospitals said.
The war has displaced most of Gaza’s population, levelled vast areas and created severe hunger. Hundreds have died in recent weeks while trying to reach food distribution sites, with witnesses and health officials accusing Israeli forces of firing toward crowds — a claim the military denies, saying it uses warning shots to prevent stampedes.
Netanyahu’s far-right allies are pushing for a deeper offensive, relocation of most Gazans to other countries and the re-establishment of Jewish settlements dismantled in 2005, a stance critics say will deepen Israel’s diplomatic isolation.
