Middle East Israel's security cabinet approves plan to take control of Gaza

[CharlieH]

 

Summary

• Israel's security cabinet has approved a plan to take control of Gaza City, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office says

• Netanyahu earlier said he intended to take over all of Gaza - the approved plan focuses specifically on Gaza City, the largest city in the enclave where hundreds of thousands of people are living

• Taking control of Gaza City would likely be the first phase of a full takeover of Gaza, our Middle East correspondent says

• The escalation faces opposition in Israel, while the UN warns that Israel expanding military operations risks "catastrophic consequences" for Palestinian civilians and Israeli hostages

• "There's nothing left to occupy," a Palestinian in Gaza City said before the plan was approved. Families of hostages protested outside Netanyahu's office as the security cabinet met

• The Israeli government does not allow international news organisations, including the BBC, into Gaza to report freely

 

The leader of the opposition in Israel says the security cabinet's plan to take over Gaza City is "a disaster" that will "lead to many more disasters".

Yair Lapid says a takeover of Gaza City would lead to the deaths of the remaining hostages and the killing of many Israeli soldiers.

The plan is "in complete opposition to the opinion of the military and security ranks", he adds. As we reported earlier, the army's chief of staff Lt Gen Eyal Zamir has warned against the move.

He accuses Netanyahu of bowing to pressure from far-right security cabinet ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich. As a reminder, the Israeli prime minister's coalition relies on the support of ultranationalist ministers who have threatened to quit the government if there is any deal with Hamas.

 

Which parts of Gaza are already under Israeli military control?published at 13:06

Israeli PM Netanyahu's newly-approved plan aims to see Israeli forces move to take control of Gaza City, in the north of the enclave, for the first time during this conflict.

The city is home to one million residents and is surrounded by land that has already been under Israel Defense Forces (IDF) control or subject to an evacuation order.

Israel says it controls 75% of Gaza, while the UN estimates some 87% of the territory is either in militarised zones or under evacuation orders.

 

Netanyahu's plans to take over Gaza City and 'five principles for ending the war'

Early on Friday morning, after a meeting of Israel's security cabinet that lasted several hours in Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office released a statement approving a plan to take control of Gaza City.

The security cabinet adopted the plans by majority vote and included "five principles for ending the war", the statement says.

"The IDF will prepare to take control of Gaza City while providing humanitarian aid to the civilian population outside the combat zones," it says, detailing the following "principles for ending the war":

• Disarmament of Hamas
• Return of all hostages - both living and dead
• Demilitarisation of the Gaza Strip
• Israeli security control over the Gaza Strip

The existence of an alternative civilian government that is not Hamas or the Palestinian Authority

"An absolute majority of cabinet ministers believed that the alternative plan presented to the cabinet would not achieve the defeat of Hamas or the return of the abductees," the statement concludes.

 

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from BBC 2025-08-08