Israel’s security cabinet late Thursday approved a major military operation to seize Gaza City, endorsing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s proposal despite warnings from senior defense officials that the move could endanger hostages.

The plan, confirmed by Netanyahu’s office, authorizes the IDF to launch a ground offensive into Gaza City — one of the last remaining areas of the enclave not under Israeli control. The move is expected to force the evacuation of more than 800,000 Palestinians currently living in the densely populated northern city.

The IDF has largely avoided entering Gaza City since the start of the war, citing the complexity of urban warfare and the presence of hostages. But Netanyahu has insisted that retaking the city is essential to defeating Hamas and achieving Israel’s war objectives. In a statement following the cabinet vote, the Prime Minister’s Office said the decision was aimed at “defeating Hamas” and would be accompanied by efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to civilians located outside combat zones.

The operation’s approval comes amid a deepening rift between Netanyahu and top military officials, including IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, who has privately and publicly expressed concerns about a full-scale ground incursion. Zamir has warned that such a move risks the lives of the living hostages still believed to be held by Hamas, many of them thought to be in Gaza City or in refugee camps in the central part of the Strip.

The cabinet’s decision did not specify whether the IDF would move beyond Gaza City and into other areas of central Gaza that also remain outside Israeli control. Netanyahu has previously said that Israel intends to “take over all of Gaza,” but Thursday’s vote appears to focus only on the initial assault on Gaza City, signaling a potentially phased approach.

Netanyahu’s office also said the cabinet endorsed a list of conditions that Israel would require to end the war. Those include Hamas’s disarmament, the return of all hostages, the full demilitarization of Gaza, continued Israeli security control over the territory, and the establishment of a new civilian governing authority unaffiliated with Hamas or the Palestinian Authority. The statement also noted that an alternative plan had been presented to the cabinet but was rejected by an overwhelming majority of ministers. That plan is widely believed to have come from Gen. Zamir, who has advocated for limited operations rather than a full re-occupation of the Strip.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)