By Maayan Lubell

JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israel's new offensive in Gaza City could take weeks to start, leaving the door open for a ceasefire, officials say, even as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it would get underway "fairly quickly" and end the war with Hamas' defeat.

Two officials who were at a security cabinet meeting on Thursday to approve the plan told Reuters that the evacuation of civilians from affected areas may only be completed by the start of October, giving time for a deal to be pursued.

The plan raised international alarm over the harm it could bring to the shattered enclave, where a hunger crisis has worsened. On Sunday, Netanyahu summonedforeign journalists to explain the blueprint, which includes what he described as a surge of humanitarian aid.

Netanyahu said that Israel will first allow civilians to leave the battle zones before forces move in on Gaza City, which he described as one of Hamas' last two remaining strongholds, whose defeat will bring an end to the war.

But Israel's Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a security cabinet member who has demanded even tougher........

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