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Fears for Palestinians and hostages as Netanyahu plans full Gaza occupation Netanyahu plans to fully occupy Gaza before handing governance to friendly Arab nations
(about 8 hours later)
Israeli prime minister to hold cabinet talks on occupation despite pleas from aid agencies and by families of hostages Israeli PM needs security cabinet to approve plan amid opposition from aid agencies and families of hostages
Middle East crisis – live updatesMiddle East crisis – live updates
The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has convened a security cabinet expected to be held on Thursday evening to discuss the full occupation of the Gaza Strip, which aid agencies have warned would lead to countless more Palestinian deaths and further mass displacement. Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that Israel intends to take military control of all of Gaza in defiance of warnings that such a move would lead to countless more Palestinian deaths, further mass displacement and endanger Israeli hostages still held in the territory.
The families of the roughly 20 remaining living hostages have called for Israelis to protest against the government and a decision they fear would endanger the lives of their loved ones. Before a security cabinet meeting to discuss Gaza’s future, the Israeli prime minister insisted that Israel does not want to ultimately govern the territory and would hand over that responsibility to friendly Arab nations.
On Thursday morning, about 20 family members of those still held captive in Gaza boarded about 10 boats that departed from the coastal city of Ashkelon, near the border with Gaza, carrying yellow flags and posters bearing the images of the hostages, as they shouted their names. Asked in an interview with Fox News if Israel would “take control of all of Gaza”, Netanyahu replied: “We intend to, in order to assure our security, remove Hamas there, enable the population to be free of Gaza.” The security cabinet would need to approve such a decision.
Speaking in English through a megaphone, Yehuda Cohen, whose son, Nimrod, was captured by Hamas on 7 October 2023, said: “Mayday, mayday, mayday. We need all international assistance to rescue the 50 hostages who are nearly two years held by the hand of Hamas.” “We don’t want to keep it. We want to have a security perimeter,” Netanyahu said. “We want to hand it over to Arab forces that will govern it properly without threatening us and giving Gazans a good life.”
“Please, we need international help,” Cohen added. In Gaza, where Israel’s air and ground war has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced most of the population, destroyed vast areas and caused a famine, Palestinians are braced for further misery. “There is nothing left to occupy,” said Maysaa al-Heila, who is living in a displacement camp. “There is no Gaza left.”
Of the 251 people kidnapped on 7 October by Hamas and its allies, 49 remain hostages in Gaza, of whom 27 have been declared dead by the army. Aya Mohammad, a 30-year-old Palestinian who, after repeated displacement, had returned with her family to Gaza City, said: “Where should we go? We have been displaced and humiliated enough.
“This is the moment for courageous leadership,” the families said, appealing directly to Netanyahu, as well as the lead hostage negotiator, Ron Dermer, and the IDF chief. “Continued obstruction, delay, and failure to bring our loved ones home will be a tragedy for generations. The responsibility is yours. Do not sacrifice our loved ones on the altar of an endless war.” “You know what displacement is? Does the world know? It means your dignity is wiped out, you become a homeless beggar, searching for food, water and medicine.”
Israeli media, citing officials speaking on condition of anonymity, said Netanyahu was hoping to seek approval on the full occupation of Gaza. At least 42 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes and shootings across southern Gaza on Thursday, according to local hospitals.
The plan would mean sending ground troops into the few areas of the strip that have not been totally destroyed, roughly 25% of the territory where much of its 2 million people have sought refuge. At a meeting of Israel’s security cabinet on Thursday evening, Netanyahu was hoping to obtain approval of the full occupation of the strip, Israeli media reported.
Israel is reportedly preparing a two-phase operation aimed at seizing control of Gaza City, with plans to evacuate about a million residents – half of Gaza’s population – in what officials describe as a temporary measure to establish civilian infrastructure in central Gaza. The plan would mean sending ground troops into the few areas of the strip that have not been totally destroyed, roughly 25% of the territory where many of its 2 million people have sought refuge.
According to Israel’s Channel 12, the campaign is being framed as a limited operation rather than a full invasion, apparently to placate military chiefs wary of long-term occupation. The chief of staff, Lt Gen Eyal Zamir, is said to have warned that occupying Gaza would plunge Israel into a “black hole” of prolonged insurgency, humanitarian responsibility and heightened risk to hostages. Israel is reportedly preparing a two-phase operation aimed at seizing control of Gaza City, with plans to evacuate about 1 million residents – half of Gaza’s population – in what officials describe as a temporary measure to establish civilian infrastructure in central Gaza.
The operation’s goal – potentially involving up to five IDF divisions and lasting four to five months – suggests a far more extensive campaign. Israeli officials say the campaign aims to pressure Hamas back into negotiations, and possibly align with a broader US-led peace framework. According to Israel’s Channel 12, the proposal is being framed as a limited operation rather than a full invasion, apparently to placate military chiefs wary of long-term occupation. The chief of staff, Lt Gen Eyal Zamir, has reportedly warned that occupying Gaza would plunge Israel into a “black hole” of prolonged insurgency, humanitarian responsibility and heightened risk to hostages.
However, the operation’s goal – potentially involving up to five IDF divisions and lasting four to five months – suggests a far more extensive campaign. Israeli officials say it aims to pressure Hamas back into negotiations and possibly align with a broader US-led peace framework.
Yet many remain sceptical. As one unnamed security official put it: “We are entering a Vietnam model, with our eyes wide open.”Yet many remain sceptical. As one unnamed security official put it: “We are entering a Vietnam model, with our eyes wide open.”
Netanyahu is under intense international pressure to reach a ceasefire agreement, but he also faces internal pressure from within his coalition to continue the war. Some far-right allies in his government have pushed for a full occupation of Gaza and for Israel to reestablish settlements there, two decades after it withdrew. Netanyahu is under intense international pressure to reach a ceasefire agreement, but he also faces pressure from within his coalition to continue the war. Some far-right allies in his government have pushed for a full occupation of Gaza and for Israel to reestablish settlements there, two decades after it withdrew.
The far-right Israeli finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, told reporters on Wednesday that he hoped the government would approve the military taking control over the rest of Gaza. The far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, told reporters on Wednesday that he hoped the government would approve the military taking control of the rest of Gaza.
“Where should we go? We have been displaced and humiliated enough,” said Aya Mohammad, a 30-year-old Palestinian who, after repeated displacement, had returned with her family to Gaza City. The World Health Organization said on Thursday that 99 people were known to have died from malnutrition in the Gaza Strip so far this year, with the figure probably an underestimate. International outrage over the humanitarian situation in Gaza has ratcheted up pressure on Israel, with UN agencies warning of famine.
“You know what displacement is? Does the world know? It means your dignity is wiped out, you become a homeless beggar, searching for food, water and medicine,” she said. The WHO director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, called for scaled-up, sustained and unimpeded aid to be allowed to flow into Gaza, through all possible routes.
Close to 200 Palestinians have died of starvation in Gaza since the war began, nearly half of them children, according to Gaza’s health ministry. People in Gaza “have limited access to basic services, have faced repeated displacement and are now suffering from a blockade of food supplies”, he told the UN correspondents’ association ACANU. “Malnutrition is widespread and hunger-related deaths are rising.”
More than 61,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel’s assault on Gaza, according to local health officials, who said that at least 20 people had been killed in airstrikes across the territory on Thursday. In July, nearly 12,000 children under five were identified as suffering from acute malnutrition – the highest monthly figure ever recorded.
Reuters, AFP and Associated Press have contributed to this article. More than 61,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel’s assault on Gaza, according to local health officials. According to a satellite survey published by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, just 1.5% of Gaza’s farmland – less than one square mile – is now accessible and undamaged.
Meanwhile, in Israel, the families of the roughly 20 remaining living hostages have called for Israelis to protest against the government and a decision they fear would endanger the lives of their loved ones.
On Thursday morning, about 20 family members of those still held captive in Gaza boarded boats that departed from the coastal city of Ashkelon, near the border with Gaza, carrying yellow flags and posters bearing the images of the hostages, as they shouted their names.
“This is the moment for courageous leadership,” the families said, appealing directly to Netanyahu, as well as the lead hostage negotiator, Ron Dermer, and the IDF chief. “Continued obstruction, delay, and failure to bring our loved ones home will be a tragedy for generations. The responsibility is yours. Do not sacrifice our loved ones on the altar of an endless war.”
Of the 251 people kidnapped on 7 October 2023, by Hamas and its allies, 49 remain hostages in Gaza, of whom 27 have been declared dead by the army.
In the West Bank, Israeli authorities returned the body of the Palestinian activist Awdah Hathaleen, who was killed by an Israeli settler last week, after his female Bedouin relatives began a hunger strike to protest the authority’s decision to hold his body in custody. The hunger strike was a rare public call from Bedouin women who traditionally mourn in private. Hathaleen was shot and killed by an Israeli settler during a confrontation caught on video.
Additional reporting by Reuters, AFP and Associated Press