Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided to order a full military occupation of the Gaza Strip to force Hamas to free the hostages, according to local reports.
The expansion of the war would see the military, which already controls about 75% of Gaza, take over the remaining areas and conduct operations where the hostages are believed to be held, the Jerusalem Post reported.
The move was reportedly made without the input of the Israeli military’s chief of staff Eyal Zamir — with Netanyahu instructing him to fall in line or resign, according to the internal memo sent out.
The decision to escalate the 21-month war comes despite calls from within Israel and around the world to find a diplomatic end to the fighting — with growing backlash over widespread hunger in Gaza and concern for the safety of the hostages.
Senior Israeli officials who discussed the occupation plan with Netanyahu believe that Hamas will not free the remaining 50 hostages without being forced to surrender, local Channel 12 reported.
That view has put pressure on Netanyahu and his cabinet following the recent release of Hamas propaganda videos showing emaciated hostages suffering and begging for food and water inside the terror group’s tunnels.
“If we do not act now, the hostages will die of hunger and Gaza will remain under Hamas control,” the officials told the local outlet.
The move to occupy all of Gaza would go against the Israel Defense Forces’s previous assessment opposing such a plan due to the realities of war and possible harm to the remaining hostages — 20 of whom are believed to be living.
The Israeli army had warned that a full occupation of Gaza, including military presence in crowded civilian areas and the few cities spared from the fighting, would take years to sift through and locate Hamas’ remaining cells.
Such action could also endanger the lives of the hostages, according to family members, with reports going around earlier this month that Hamas sent an order to its members to kill any captives in their custody if Israeli soldiers were closing in on them.
The tragedy played out last year when six hostages, including Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, were executed by terrorists before Israeli soldiers could reach them.
“A full occupation of the Strip is a death sentence for the living hostages and a security, humanitarian and diplomatic disaster,” Israeli lawmaker Gilad Kariv said in a statement after learning of the controversial plan.
The families of the hostages have also panned previous plans to expand the war, urging their leaders to keep the fighting out of the few safe bastions in Gaza where their relatives are likely being held.
