Israeli ministers approved a plan to capture all of Gaza and remain there – two officials say
Israel’s security cabinet approved a plan to capture all of the Gaza Strip and remain there for an unspecified amount of time, two officials said, AP reports.
The plan was approved today and is part of Israel’s efforts to increase pressure on Hamas to free hostages and negotiate a ceasefire on Israel’s terms.
The two officials said the plan also includes the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to southern Gaza. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing military plans.
Key events
One of Israel’s goals is to prevent Hamas from handling aid in the Gaza Strip, AP reports.
The Israeli officials who confirmed Israel’s plans to potentially capture all of Gaza, did not disclose details on how the plan seeks to prevent Hamas from involvement in aid distribution. One said the ministers had approved “the option of aid distribution,” without elaborating.
According to an internal memo circulated among aid groups and seen by AP, Israel told the UN that it will use private security companies to control aid distribution in Gaza. The UN, in a statement yesterday, said it would not participate in the plan as presented, saying it violates its core principles.
The memo, sent to aid organisations, detailed notes from a meeting between COGAT, the Israeli defence body in charge of coordinating aid to Gaza, and the UN.
Under COGAT’s plan, all aid will enter Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing, letting approximately 60 trucks enter daily and distributing 20kg of aid parcels directly to people on the day of entry.
The memo said the aid will be distributed at logistics hubs, which will be run by private security companies. The memo said that facial recognition will be used to identify Palestinians at the hubs and SMS alerts will notify people in the area that they can collect aid.
Aid workers say the plan to centralise aid, rather than delivering it to Palestinians where they are, will forcibly displace people.
Houthis say US bombed Yemen after strike on Israel’s main airport
Yemen’s Houthis have said the US of carried out strikes in and around Sana’a, after the Iran-backed rebels claimed a missile strike on Israel’s main airport yesterday, AFP reports.
The Houthi-run Saba news agency said the strikes included two on Arbaeen Street in the capital and the airport road, blaming them on “American aggression”. Saba said 16 people were wounded, citing the Houthi’s health ministry.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed a tough response against the Houthis, as well as its main backer Iran, over the airport attack. On social media platform X, Netanyahu said Israel would also respond to Iran at “a time and place of our choosing”.
Iran denied supporting the attack, calling it an “independent decision” by the Yemeni rebels taken in solidarity with the Palestinian people.
As news of Israel’s plans to for a renewed assault on the Gaza Strip emerge, Gaza rescuers said Israeli air strikes killed at least 19 people in the north overnight, AFP reports.
Israel resumed major operations across Gaza on 18 March amid deadlock over how to proceed with a two-month ceasefire that had largely halted the war with Hamas, which was sparked by the militants’ October 2023 attack on Israel.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said yesterday that at least 2,436 people had been killed since Israel resumed its campaign in March, bringing the overall death toll from the war to 52,535.
Gaza plan ‘sacrificing’ hostages, say families
An Israeli campaign group said that a new government plan for expanded military operations in Gaza is “sacrificing” hostages held in the Palestinian territory, AFP reports.
“The plan approved by the cabinet deserves to be called the ‘Smotrich-Netanyahu Plan’ for sacrificing the hostages,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a statement on the plan adopted by Israel’s security cabinet.
The reference was to far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich and prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
A report by Israel’s public broadcaster Kan, citing officials with knowledge of the details, said new plan to intensify operations in the Gaza Strip would be gradual and would take months, with forces focusing first on one area, Reuters reports.
Such a timeline could leave the door open for a ceasefire and hostage release deal talks ahead of a visit by US president Donald Trump to the region next week, according to security cabinet minister Zeev Elkin.
“There is still a window of opportunity until president Trump concludes his visit to the Middle East, if Hamas understands we are serious,” Elkin told Kan.
Israeli ministers approved a plan to capture all of Gaza and remain there – two officials say
Israel’s security cabinet approved a plan to capture all of the Gaza Strip and remain there for an unspecified amount of time, two officials said, AP reports.
The plan was approved today and is part of Israel’s efforts to increase pressure on Hamas to free hostages and negotiate a ceasefire on Israel’s terms.
The two officials said the plan also includes the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to southern Gaza. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing military plans.
Israel to intensify Gaza operations
Israeli ministers on Monday agreed to ramp up the war against Hamas in Gaza, an official said.
Associated Press reported Israel has plans to capture more territory in the beleaguered Palestinian territory and call up tens of thousands of reserve soldiers.
The plan, which the official said would be gradual, could mark a significant escalation in the fighting in Gaza, which resumed in mid-March after Israel and Hamas failed to agree on an extension to an eight-week truce. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.
On Sunday, Israel’s military chief of staff, Lt Gen Eyal Zamir, said the army was calling up tens of thousands of reserve soldiers and said Israel would “operate in additional areas” in Gaza and continue to strike militant infrastructure.
Israel already controls roughly half of Gaza’s territory, including a buffer zone along the border with Israel as well as three corridors that run east-west along the strip. These have squeezed war-weary Palestinians into ever shrinking wedges of land in the devastated territory.
We will bring you more developments as we have them.
