Israel approves military plan to occupy Gaza City

In addition to the military plan to occupy Gaza City, Israel's security cabinet also approved "five principles" to end the war, Al Jazeera reported.

These are: the disarmament of Hamas; the return of all hostages (dead and alive); the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip; security control of the enclave; and the establishment of an alternative civil administration that is neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority.

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said today that the Israeli government's decision to occupy Gaza City, home to one million people, "is a disaster that will lead to many more disasters."

Lapid stated on his social media account X that the Israeli government's decision is "in complete contradiction with the opinion of the Army and security officials" and that it does not take into account "the wear and tear and exhaustion of the fighting forces."

The opposition leader considered that the two ultranationalist and settler Israeli ministers — Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir — led Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to make a decision that “will take months” and “will lead to the death of the hostages and many soldiers.”

Furthermore, he said, this plan “will cost Israeli taxpayers tens of millions and lead to political collapse.”

“This is exactly what Hamas wanted: for Israel to be trapped in a territory, without a purpose, without a clear outlook for the next day, in a useless occupation that no one understands where it leads,” he said.

The Israeli Government Security Cabinet approved this morning a military plan proposed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to occupy Gaza City, in the north of the enclave.

After about ten hours of meetings, the Israeli government released a statement outlining Netanyahu's plan to "defeat Hamas," which includes occupying Gaza City, without clarifying what will happen to the rest of the enclave, despite the prime minister having declared his intention to extend the operation to the entire Strip before beginning the discussion session with the cabinet.

"The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will prepare to take control of Gaza City, while ensuring the provision of humanitarian aid to the civilian population outside combat zones," the statement said.

The government also guarantees that the cabinet adopted "by majority vote" five principles to end the war: disarming Hamas, the return of all hostages, whether alive or not, the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip, Israeli control of security in the Gaza Strip and the establishment of an "alternative civil administration" for the enclave, which is neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority, which currently governs parts of the occupied West Bank.

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