Israel’s security cabinet yesterday approved a plan to expand its military offensive against Hamas which includes the “capture” of Gaza and the holding of its territory, according to an Israeli official.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the cabinet had decided on a “forceful operation” to destroy Hamas and rescue its remaining hostages, and that Gaza’s 2.1 million population “will be moved, to protect it”.
He did not say how much territory would be seized by troops, but he stressed that “they will not enter and come out”.
The cabinet also approved, in principle, a plan to deliver aid through private companies, which would end a two-month blockade the UN says has caused severe food shortages.
The UN and other aid agencies have said the proposal would be a breach of basic humanitarian principles and that they will not co-operate.
A Hamas official said the group rejected Israel’s “pressure and blackmail”.
Asked about the Israeli plan to expand its offensive, President Donald Trump repeated a pledge to help get food to Palestinians there.
The UK, meanwhile, said it “does not support an expansion of Israel’s military operations in Gaza”. The EU earlier urged restraint, saying it was concerned about “further casualties and suffering for the Palestinian population”.
An Israeli official who briefed the media yesterday said ministers voted unanimously to approve a plan proposed by the Israeli military’s Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir to “defeat Hamas in Gaza and return the hostages”.
“The plan will include, among other things, the capture of the Strip and holding the territories, moving the Gazan population south for its defence, denying Hamas the ability to distribute humanitarian supplies, and powerful attacks against Hamas,” the official said.
Israeli media reported that first stage would include the seizure of additional areas of Gaza and the expansion of the Israeli-designated “buffer zone” running along the territory’s borders. It would aim to give Israel additional leverage in negotiations with Hamas on a new ceasefire and hostage release deal.
Later, a senior Israeli security official said the plan would not be implemented until after Trump’s visit to the region between 13 and 16 May, providing what he called “a window of opportunity” to Hamas to agree a new ceasefire and hostage release deal.
Israeli troops have already taken over an area amounting to around a third of Gaza, displacing the population and building watchtowers and surveillance posts on cleared ground the military has described as security zones, but the new plan would go further.
Israel resumed its offensive in March after the collapse of a US-backed ceasefire that had halted fighting for two months. It has since imposed an aid blockade, drawing warnings from the UN that the 2.3 million population faces imminent famine.
Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi said, “No deal except a comprehensive one, which includes a complete ceasefire, full withdrawal from Gaza, reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, and the release of all prisoners from both sides,” he said.
Israel’s Chief of Staff said that the military has already begun issuing tens of thousands of call-up orders for reservists.
A government spokesman said reserve soldiers were being called up to expand operations in Gaza, not to occupy it.
Zamir, who took office in March, has pushed back against calls by government hardliners who want to choke off aid entirely and has told ministers aid must be let in soon, according to Kan.
The war was triggered by the Hamas October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli tallies, and saw 251 taken hostage into Gaza.
Israel’s ground and air campaign in Gaza has since killed more than 52,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians.
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