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Netanyahu divides Israelis and allies with plan to take over Gaza Netanyahu divides Israelis and allies with plan to take over Gaza
(about 2 hours later)
Watch: 'Chilling' aerial video shows Gaza in ruinsWatch: 'Chilling' aerial video shows Gaza in ruins
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plans for a new military push in the Gaza Strip have raised warnings from the army leadership, opposition from hostage families and concerns that more Palestinians will be killed. They also risk isolating his country even further. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's controversial plans for a new military push in the Gaza Strip have raised warnings from the army leadership, opposition from hostage families and concerns that more Palestinians will be killed.
Ahead of the security cabinet meeting where proposals to take over Gaza City were approved by an "absolute majority", Netanyahu gave an interview to Fox News in which he said Israel intended to take full control of Gaza to assure Israel's security, remove Hamas from power and enable the transfer of civilian governance to another party, without giving details. They also risk isolating his country even further.
But he suggested that Israel did not want to keep the territory. In a meeting of the security cabinet that lasted 10 hours, ministers approved proposals for the "takeover of Gaza City", which is likely to be the first phase for the Israeli military to assume full control of Gaza, as Netanyahu says it is his intention.
"We don't want to govern it," Netanyahu said, in English. "We don't want to be there as a governing body. We want to hand it over to Arab forces." A statement released by his office did not use the word "occupation" but, effectively, that is what the plans mean.
He did not give details about possible arrangements or which countries could be involved; still, this was a rare indication of what he might be envisioning for a post-war Gaza. It is not clear when the operations, which could take months, will start, as the military will have to call up thousands of reservists, exhausted after serving multiple times, and allow for the forced evacuation of residents from an area where around 800,000 Palestinians live.
Benjamin Netanyahu in the Knesset last month Many, if not most, have already been displaced many times in this war.
For now, however, Netanyahu wants an expanded offensive that is likely to see the Israeli military, which says it controls about 75% of the territory, operating in Gaza City and the camps in the central part of the strip, where around one million Palestinians live and the hostages are thought to be held. The plans will spark fresh condemnation from countries which have expressed anger over the situation in Gaza and urged Israel to end the war, which started as a response to the Hamas attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023.
The potential operations, which could take months, would mean the mass displacement of people with the potential to worsen the humanitarian crisis there. UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has described the decision as "wrong" and called on Israel to reconsider it "immediately".
This could spark fresh condemnation from countries that have expressed anger over the situation in Gaza and urged Israel to end the nearly two-year war, which started as a response to the Hamas attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023. But international pressure is unlikely to force Netanyahu change his course.
There is discontent at home, too. Polls suggest most of the Israeli public favour a deal with Hamas for the release of the 50 hostages, 20 of whom are thought to be alive, and the end of the war.
The threat of a full occupation could be part of a strategy to try to force the group into making concessions in stalled ceasefire talks.
Israeli leaders say Hamas, for now, is not interested in negotiating as, in their view, the group is feeling emboldened, a view that seems to be shared by the Trump administration which has not expressed opposition to Israel's plans.
LIVE: Security cabinet approved Gaza City planLIVE: Security cabinet approved Gaza City plan
In a sign of major divergencies between the political and military leadership, the Israeli army's chief of staff, Lt Gen Eyal Zamir, told Netanyahu that the full occupation of Gaza was "tantamount to walking into a trap", according to reports in Israeli media. Many here believe that Netanyahu is prolonging the conflict to guarantee the survival of his coalition, which relies on the support of ultranationalist ministers who have threatened to quit the government if the war ends.
Zamir, the reports said, warned that the offensive would endanger the lives of the 20 hostages who are believed to be alive as well as of soldiers, who are exhausted. Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich have also publicly defended what they describe as the voluntary migration of Palestinians from Gaza - which could amount to the forced displacement of civilians, a war crime - and resettling it with Jews.
Many of the hostage families share those concerns, and say the only way to guarantee the release of the hostages is through a negotiated deal with Hamas. Netanyahu's ideas have faced strong opposition from the army's Chief of Staff, Lt Gen Eyal Zamir who, according to reports in the Israeli media, had warned the prime minister that a full occupation Gaza was "tantamount to walking into a trap" and would endanger the living hostages.
Many of the hostages' families share those concerns, and say the only way to guarantee the release of the hostages is through a negotiated deal with Hamas and ending the war.
According to the Maariv newspaper, the "prevailing assessment is that most and possibly all of the living hostages [will] die" during an expanded offensive, either killed by their captors or accidentally by Israeli soldiers.According to the Maariv newspaper, the "prevailing assessment is that most and possibly all of the living hostages [will] die" during an expanded offensive, either killed by their captors or accidentally by Israeli soldiers.
Speculation over an expanded offensive have also exposed divergences between some of Israel's international allies.
The British ambassador to Israel, Simon Walter, said the full occupation of Gaza would be a "huge mistake", while also pushing back against US and Israeli allegations that a possible recognition of Palestinian statehood by the UK was a reward for Hamas.
Meanwhile, the US envoy, Mike Huckabee, a staunch supporter of Israel, said it was up to the Israeli government to decide whether to fully take over the Strip. "It's not our job to tell them what they should or should not do," he told CBS News, the BBC's news partner in the US.
Netanyahu has, so far, failed to offer a vision for Gaza after the war apart from refusing to accept a governing role for the Palestinian Authority, the body that governs the occupied West Bank and recognises Israel.
Polls suggest most of the Israeli public favours a deal with Hamas for the release of the hostages and the end of the war.
Israeli leaders say Hamas, for now, is not interested in negotiating as, in their view, the group is feeling emboldened by the international pressure on Israel.
Watch: MSF doctor Caroline Willeman speaks about worsening situation in GazaWatch: MSF doctor Caroline Willeman speaks about worsening situation in Gaza
The threat of a full occupation could be part of a strategy to try to force the group into making concessions in stalled talks. Ahead of the security cabinet meeting, Netanyahu gave an interview to Fox News in which he said Israel intended to take full control of Gaza.
But many here believe that Netanyahu is prolonging the conflict to guarantee the survival of his coalition, which relies on the support of ultranationalist ministers who have threatened to quit the government if there is any deal with Hamas. The decision of the cabinet appeared to stop short of officially endorsing that.
Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich have also publicly defended expelling Palestinians from Gaza - which could amount to the forced displacement of civilians, a war crime - and resettling it with Jews. In the Fox interview, Netanyahu suggested that Israel did not want to keep the territory. "We don't want to govern it," he said. "We don't want to be there as a governing body. We want to hand it over to Arab forces."
Israel's war in Gaza has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry, which is run by Hamas. He did not give details about possible arrangements or which countries could be involved. Still, this was a rare indication of what he might be envisioning for a post-war Gaza.
The Hamas 7 October attacks on Israel killed about 1,200 people, while 251 were taken to Gaza as hostages. Netanyahu has, so far, failed to offer a vision for Gaza after the war apart from refusing to accept a governing role for the Palestinian Authority, the body that governs the occupied West Bank and recognises Israel.
Israel's war in Gaza has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry, which is run by Hamas. The Hamas 7 October attacks on Israel killed about 1,200 people, while 251 were taken to Gaza as hostages.