Israel’s security cabinet approved a plan Friday to take over Gaza City in a major escalation of its war against Hamas — with the risky move expected to take place in phases.
The announcement stopped short of stating Israel would take over the entire Palestinian enclave; however, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that an entire takeover is what the Jewish state intends to do.
The plan to take control of the Gaza Strip’s largest city and capital will reportedly be gradual and in multiple phases, a source told CNN.
The first phase of the operation, according to the source, would involve the evacuation of Gaza City and an expansion of aid distribution.
The deadline for Palestinians to flee the major city would reportedly be Oct. 7, the second anniversary Hamas’ depraved attack that killed 1,200 Israelis and led to the kidnapping of 250 more.
That date was picked intentionally for its symbolism, the source told CNN.
And while humanitarian aid is expected to ratchet up during this phase, it won’t take place in Gaza City, so civilians don’t linger in the area, a second Israeli source told the outlet.
It wasn’t clear what exactly the subsequent phases would involve, but the overall plan could take up to five months, an Israeli official reportedly said before the cabinet’s high-stakes vote.
The approved plan ultimately calls to disarm Hamas and retrieve the rest of the living hostages and bodies of slain hostages, while demilitarizing the entire strip.
It also calls for a new government to rule the enclave that is not Hamas or the Palestinian Authority.
Meanwhile, as the takeover plan was approved, the Israel Defense Forces was seen in commercial satellite images adding more troops and equipment near the border of Gaza Friday.
The buildup indicates that a fresh ground invasion of the neighboring territory is possible, three US officials and a former official who saw the photos told NBC News.
Netanyahu has said he wants to take over all of Gaza, but doesn’t want to govern it permanently and instead wants to hand it off to an Arab governance that won’t seek to destroy Israel.
The takeover plan has drawn fierce blowback, including from IDF chief Eyal Zamir, who claimed it would put the hostages in danger and worsen the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the first source told CNN.
Following the security cabinet’s vote, Germany announced it wouldn’t send more military equipment to Israel that could be used in Gaza.
Foreign ministers in the Netherlands and Denmark called Israel’s latest decision “wrong” while European Commissioner Ursula von der Leyen said it “must be reconsidered.”
With Post wires
