The government voted to expand the distribution of humanitarian aid in northern Gaza Saturday night, intensifying simmering tensions between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and hardliners within the cabinet who oppose a brewing ceasefire deal.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, whose leads one of two-far right factions thought to be opposed to an agreement, said Sunday his Religious Zionism party would “consider what steps to take” in reaction to the approval of expanded aid into the Strip.

An Israeli official confirmed the cabinet decision to The Times of Israel Sunday, noting that the distribution would be handled by international aid organizations.

Those do not include the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which other aid groups have accused of exposing Gazans aid seekers to deadly IDF gunfire. The GHF operates three distribution sites in southern Gaza and one in central Gaza.

GHF said over a month ago that Israel had agreed to allow it to operate a distribution site in northern Gaza, but that has yet to happen.

Both Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, head of the far-right Otzma Yehudit party, objected to the expansion of aid during the meeting, which included a heated exchange with Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, according to Hebrew media reports.

Smotrich accused Zamir of “failing massively” in controlling the distribution of aid, with the general retorting that Smotrich was “weakening” Israeli troops, the Kan public broadcaster reported.

Ben Gvir also reportedly pressed Zamir on the issue, questioning why aid was being distributed if doing so put soldiers in harm’s way and calling for a halt in assistance, after ministers were shown a video of a Gazan crowd running toward an aid distribution center and Zamir highlighted that the crowds were not far from IDF soldiers.

“Why is [aid] being distributed and soldiers endangered?” Ben Gvir was quoted as saying in several Hebrew media reports.

Zamir reportedly responded, “So you want to stop the distribution?”

At which point Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly said: “They are running because food is lacking. When they get a lot, they won’t run like that.”

On Sunday, Smotrich took his attack against Zamir public, writing on X that the decision to let more aid into Gaza was........

© The Times of Israel