The proposal to occupy Gaza City approved by Israel’s security cabinet

A plan to seize Gaza City was authorized by Israel’s security cabinet on Friday, extending military operations in the broken Palestinian territory and drawing harsh new domestic and international condemnation for Israel’s continuation of the almost two-year-old conflict.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized Germany, a crucial European partner, for announcing it would stop sending Israel military hardware that may be used in Gaza. Israel was pushed by Britain and other European partners to reevaluate its choice to intensify the military war in Gaza.

However, Mike Huckabee, the envoy of U.S. President Donald Trump to Israel, told Reuters that certain nations seemed to be applying pressure on Israel instead of the terrorist organization Hamas, whose 2023 attack on Israel sparked the

Netanyahu came under fire in Israel from opposition leaders and relatives of hostages taken by terrorists in Gaza for a move they claimed would endanger the lives of the captives.
The prime minister’s coalition’s far-right backers have been calling for a complete takeover of Gaza as part of his promise to destroy Hamas terrorists, but the military has cautioned that this may jeopardize the lives of the militants’ surviving hostages.

The decision to send Israeli soldiers into Gaza City was referred to as a tragedy by opposition leader Yair Lapid, who said it went against the recommendations of security and military authorities. He charged that Netanyahu was being pulled into a protracted battle that would kill troops and hostages by far-right ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich.

In an interview that aired on Thursday, Netanyahu informed Bill Hemmer of Fox News Channel that the military planned to seize control of Gaza as a whole. According to him, Israel wants to create a “security perimeter” and turn over the Gaza Strip to Arab forces rather than retain it.

Early on Friday, after the security cabinet meeting on Thursday, the prime minister’s office said that the IDF would capture Gaza City, although it did not specify if Israeli forces would capture the whole territory. The Gaza City proposal is anticipated to receive approval from Israel’s government. According to the prime minister’s office, Netanyahu expressed his unhappiness with Berlin’s decision to halt arms sales to Israel in a conversation with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Friday.

Netanyahu told the chancellor that Israel’s goal was to “free Gaza from Hamas” so a peaceful government could be established there, and that Israel does not intend to take it over, it said.