What to know about Israel’s plan to take control of Gaza City

What is the plan for Gaza City

The plan to take control of Gaza City, which could expand in time, is smaller in scope than comments Netanyahu made to Fox News, in which he indicated Israel was looking to take complete military control of the entire enclave.

Israel’s military is believed to be holding about 75% of the enclave, but not the largest city, Gaza City, located in the Northeast. Hamas has run Gaza for nearly the last 20 years, coming to power shortly after Israel withdrew settlements from the enclave in 2005.

The five principles the security Cabinet adopted include the disarming of Hamas, the return of all Israeli hostages, the demilitarization of the enclave, Israeli control of it, and the establishment of a local government to govern Gaza that doesn’t include Hamas or the Palestinian Authority.

“A decisive majority of the Security Cabinet ministers believed that the alternative plan that had been submitted to the Security Cabinet would neither achieve the defeat of Hamas nor the return of the hostages,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement. However, it did not say what the other plan entailed.

What has the response been

Israel’s decision to continue the war was met with backlash domestically and internationally.

Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, Israel’s military chief of staff, reportedly pushed back on the plan, citing concerns about the exhaustion of the Israeli military and its stockpiles for a new offensive after nearly two years of conflicts, according to the New York Times.

The IDF released comments on Thursday from Zamir, in which he said, “The culture of debate is an inseparable part of the history of the Jewish people. It is a vital component of the IDF’s overall culture — both internally and externally. We will continue to express our position without fear.”

“The Cabinet’s decision tonight is a disaster that will lead to many more disasters,” said Yair Lapid, the leader of Netanyahu’s parliamentary opposition.

The plan has been rebuked internationally as well, with leaders raising concerns about what it will mean for Palestinian civilians already facing significant shortages of humanitarian essentials.

“This action will do nothing to bring an end to this conflict or to help secure the release of the hostages. It will only bring more bloodshed,” U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a statement released by Downing Street on Friday. “What we need is a ceasefire, a surge in humanitarian aid, the release of all hostages by Hamas, and a negotiated solution.”

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced on Friday that his country will not approve any exports of military equipment that Israel could use in Gaza.

It is also possible that this is an effort to put even more pressure on Hamas to agree to a ceasefire deal.

Trump administration maintains support for Israel

This month, U.S. officials have said Hamas has now been disincentivized to agree to a deal after Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron announced their intent to recognize a Palestinian state in the fall.

“They are hurting ceasefire talks, because Hamas is sitting there saying — that’s the problem with the U.K. statement,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last week. “The U.K. is like, well, if Israel doesn’t agree to a ceasefire by September, we’re going to recognize a Palestinian state. So if I’m Hamas, I say, you know what, let’s not allow there to be a ceasefire. If Hamas refuses to agree to a ceasefire, it guarantees that a Palestinian state will be recognized by all these countries in September. So they’re not going to agree to a ceasefire.”

The Trump administration maintains, as does Israel, that granting Palestinian statehood would amount to rewarding Hamas for the most deadly terrorist attack in the Jewish State’s history.

When asked about the occupation plan on Tuesday, President Donald Trump said, “It is going to be pretty much up to Israel.”

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee also brushed off concern, saying, “It’s not our job to tell them what they should or should not do.”

“Certainly, if they ask for wisdom, counsel, or advice, I’m sure the president would offer it. But ultimately, it’s the decision that the Israelis and only the Israelis can make,” Huckabee told CBS News.

Surviving hostages put at further risk, families warn

Hamas is still holding roughly 50 of the 250 hostages it took nearly two years ago during the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack. Roughly 20 of the hostages are believed to be alive.

The hostages are supposedly in tunnels under Gaza that Hamas has built over the past two decades that it has controlled the strip.

Hamas released a video of one of its hostages, Evyatar David, earlier this month. The Palestinian Islamic Jihad, another terrorist group based in Gaza that is holding some of the hostages, also released footage of Rom Braslavski. Both hostages looked emaciated and in poor health.

For David’s family, it was the first time they had seen him in a video since March.

“As my younger brother, a living skeleton, was forced to speak and dig his grave, the chubby and well-fed hand of a Hamas terrorist entered the frame,” Ilay David, Evyatar David’s older brother, said at the United Nations Security Council this week. “Suddenly, Hamas confirmed what we have known for months — the terrorists have plenty of food. The only ones starving in Hamas’ tunnels are the hostages: my brother, Guy, and the [49] others.”

Many of the hostages’ families have been among Netanyahu’s loudest domestic critics, calling on him and the government to prioritize securing their loved ones’ release over the defeat of Hamas.

In a statement after the occupation approval Thursday, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum warned the move was a “colossal disaster” for the hostages.

“Tonight, the Israeli government sentenced the living hostages to death and the fallen hostages to disappearance,” a statement from the group said. “The cabinet decision to launch the process of occupying the Strip is an official declaration of the abandonment of the hostages, while completely ignoring the repeated warnings by the military echelon and the clear desire of most of the public in Israel.”

Alternatively, members of Netanyahu’s own governing coalition do not believe he is going far enough in carrying out the war. Two ultranationalist ministers, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, voted against the Cabinet’s decision, according to Axios.

Both Ben-Gvir and Smoltrich want to see Israel annex the Gaza Strip and West Bank into Israeli territory, a discussion that has been widely rebuked on the international stage. They do not believe aid should be allowed to enter Gaza at all.

Netanyahu’s comments that Israel does not “want to keep Gaza” will likely anger the duo, while the prime minister’s statement that Israel wants to “hand it over to Arab forces that will govern it properly without threatening us” did not specify who would be acceptable to him.

In addition to trying to placate the ultranationalist members of his governing coalition, Netanyahu has faced accusations that he has intentionally dragged out the war to benefit his political standing and delay his corruption trial.

ISRAELI LEADERS CLASH OVER FULL OCCUPATION OF GAZA DESPITE TRUMP’S CONSENT FOR INVASION

Through 22 months of war, Israel’s ground and aerial campaign has decimated the strip. Israeli forces have flattened much of the infrastructure in Gaza and have limited the amount of aid that’s able to enter the besieged enclave. Israel’s military has killed roughly 60,000 people, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between terrorists and civilians.

Israel has faced allegations that its military operations in Gaza meet the legal definition of genocide, though it and the U.S. have disputed the claim.