Israel’s political-security cabinet on Friday (8th August) approved a plan proposed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the Israeli military to take over Gaza City. “The IDF will prepare to take control of Gaza City while providing humanitarian aid to the civilian population outside the combat zones,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement, referring to the Israeli Defence Forces. The decision comes after the attempts to mediate a ceasefire failed in July this year.
Yesterday, Netanyahu had reportedly expressed the intention to take military control of the entire Gaza Strip, but the plan approved by the security cabinet is limited to Gaza City, the largest urban centre of the territory, located in its north.
The Israeli military operaration will involve displacement of all Palestinian civilians from Gaza city to camps in central Gaza. The broader plan envisions the disarming of Hamas, which has run the enclave since 2007, the return of all the hostages kept by Hamas, and the demilitarization of the entire Gaza Strip and Israeli control of it.
The PM’s proposal has been approved despite threat by Hamas to kill the remaining Israeli hostages if Israeli forces proceeds towards Gaza City. The IDF has also warned that he operation risks the lives of the remaining hostages, apart from the possibilty of sparking a humanitarian disaster.
Evacuation of Palestinians from the territory will take 2 months
As per the approved plan, the Palestinians have two months’ time until October 7, 2025 (which coincides with the second anniversary of Hamas terror attack on Israel), to evacuate Gaza City. Subsequently, the IDF will lay a siege on the territory, and any remaining Hamas operatives will be eliminated. After that, the IDF will proceed to acquire the remaining areas of Gaza.
According to reports, a statement by the Prime Minister’s office said that Israel would provide humanitarian aid to the civilian population outside combat zones. A Day before yesterday, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said that the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation will expand its operations from 3 to 16 distribution sites that will be operational around the clock.
The statement from the PM’s office also stated that the cabinet, by majority, also approved a list of five principles that Israel would demand to be fulfilled before agreeing to a ceasefire with Hamas. The principles are- (1) The terror group’s disarmament;
(2) the return of all 50 remaining hostages — 20 of whom are believed to be alive;
(3) the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip;
(4) Israeli security control over the Gaza Strip; and
(5) the existence of an alternative civilian government that is not Hamas or the Palestinian Authority.
IDF warns of risk to the lives of hostages, ministers go ahead with the plan
The development is said to have come amid the warnings of the Israeli Defence Forces that the operation might risk the lives of the remaining hostages in Gaza. The IDF Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, reportedly expressed his opposition to Netanyahu’s proposal.
“The lives of the hostages will be in danger if we go ahead with this plan to occupy Gaza. There is no way to guarantee that we will not harm them. Our forces are worn out, the military tools need maintenance, and there are humanitarian and sanitary (concerns regarding the Palestinian population),” the IDF chief was quoted as saying. He added that a complete occupation of the Gaza Strip would take a year or two, involving an initial phase of about five months of intensive fighting.
The IDF Chief reportedly presented an alternative plan to Netanyahu’s plan, but the majority of ministers agreed with the Prime Minister’s plan. The ministers believes that the alternative plan will not be able to defeat Hamas and secure the release of the hostages. The Prime Minister’s office said that the operation is intended to defeat Hamas, and that it can be stopped at any point if Hamas agrees to Israel’s demands. Around 50 hostages are still said to be held in Gaza, out of whom around 20 are believed to be alive by the Israeli officials. The hostages were captured during October 7 terrorist attack by Hamas.
A complete occupation of the Gaza territory by Israel would amount to reversing a 2005 decision of the country, wherein it withdrew thousands of Jewish settlers and military forces following Palestinian militant attacks, but retained control of its borders, airspace and utilities.
