The security cabinet approved overnight Thursday-Friday a proposal by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to take over the densely populated Gaza City, the premier’s office announced in a statement, bucking warnings from the Israel Defense Forces that the operation risks the lives of the remaining hostages in addition to potentially sparking a humanitarian disaster.

The limitation of the takeover to Gaza City did not seem to go as far as what had earlier been characterized as a plan to occupy the entirety of the Strip. Netanyahu told Fox News hours before the security cabinet convened that a full takeover was his intention.

However, the statement from Netanyahu’s office notably described the adopted proposal as one aimed at “defeating Hamas,” meaning that there may be subsequent operations beyond the one for Gaza City that were approved and not announced.

The decision did not use the word “occupy,” and instead referred to “taking over,” due to legal reasons pertaining to Israel’s responsibility for civilian matters in Gaza, according to the Ynet news site. The outlet added, however, citing an unnamed senior Israeli official, that this distinction was superficial, and the decision in fact relates to full military rule. The conquest would stop if a hostage deal is clinched, according to the report.

Roughly one million Palestinians — many of whom have already been displaced several times throughout the 22-month war — currently reside in Gaza City, in northern Gaza. A senior Israeli official told The Times of Israel news that the plan approved by the cabinet will see those civilians evacuated toward the south.

The cabinet decision states that Palestinians will have until October 7, 2025, to evacuate Gaza City — a two-month window that also coincides with the second anniversary of Hamas’s attack on Israel, the Israeli official said. The IDF will then launch its ground offensive into Gaza City, placing a siege on the area in order to kill any remaining Hamas operatives. After the takeover is complete, the official indicated that the IDF will proceed to the remaining unconquered areas of Gaza.

Israel says it currently controls 75 percent of the Strip, while the IDF has largely avoided entering the remaining 25% — which mostly comprises Gaza City and refugee camps in central Gaza — due to the belief that most of the hostages are being held there. Almost all of Gaza’s 2 million citizens are currently in the quarter of the Strip that the IDF does not control.  Hamas has threatened to execute hostages if its operatives detect Israeli troops........

© The Times of Israel