Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced in a Thursday interview on Fox News that Israel intends to take control of the Gaza Strip, though it does not plan to directly govern or maintain long-term control. He said the goal is to eventually transfer authority to Arab forces who would pose no threat to Israel and ensure a decent quality of life for Gaza’s residents.
Following this, Israel’s security cabinet met overnight from Thursday to Friday. According to an official statement, the cabinet approved five key principles to end the conflict: disarming Hamas, securing the return of all hostages – alive or dead – demilitarizing Gaza, maintaining Israeli security control within the territory and establishing an alternative civilian administration that is neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority.
Israeli public radio Kan reported that the multi-stage plan involves conquering Gaza City, with residents to be evacuated over the next two months to refugee camps. Troops would then encircle the city and conduct operations within it.
Gaza City is currently home to approximately 800,000 Palestinians, who are expected to be relocated southward under the plan.
The Israeli daily Israel Hayom characterized the plan amid stalled negotiations as an ultimatum to Hamas: accept the deal on the table or face a full Israeli takeover of the Gaza Strip.
At present, the Israeli military occupies or operates on the ground in nearly 75% of Gaza, primarily from permanent positions along the border. Israel previously occupied Gaza after the 1967 war and established 21 settlements, all dismantled during its unilateral withdrawal in 2005.
A Deeply Divisive Plan
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid denounced the government’s Gaza strategy on Friday as a catastrophe that would cause the death of hostages, the loss of many soldiers, cost Israeli taxpayers tens of billions of shekels and result in diplomatic failure.
In a rare public disagreement, Israeli Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir reportedly expressed concerns during a high-level security meeting about a full-scale conquest of the Gaza Strip. He warned that such an operation would put both Israeli troops and hostages still held by Hamas at serious risk.
On August 4, nearly 600 former senior Israeli security officials, including former directors of Mossad and Shin Bet, called on US President Donald Trump to pressure Prime Minister Netanyahu to end the war.
Hamas accused Israel on Friday of preparing to commit a “new war crime” with its plan to seize Gaza City, describing it as a “criminal adventure” that would come at a heavy cost and result in the “sacrifice of hostages.”
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, urged that the Israeli government’s plan be halted immediately. He said it violates the International Court of Justice’s ruling that Israel must end its occupation as soon as possible, undermines the agreed two-state solution and denies Palestinians their right to self-determination.
In response to the announcement, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Friday that Berlin is suspending all arms exports that could be used in Gaza. “It is becoming increasingly difficult to see how Israel’s military plan would achieve its objectives in the Gaza Strip,” said Merz in a statement. “Under these circumstances, the German government will, until further notice, block any export of military equipment that could be deployed there.”
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