ALBAWABA - The Israeli Security Cabinet has agreed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plan to take full control of Gaza City. This is a big step up in Israel's attack in the Gaza Strip.
An early Friday morning statement from the Prime Minister's office said that the Israeli military is getting ready for a ground operation and has promised to help citizens who are not in war zones.
Since the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, the war has been going on for almost two years. This move is a big turning point in that time. The Cabinet also agreed to five ideas for ending the war. These are: breaking up Hamas, returning all hostages, disarming the whole Gaza Strip, keeping Israeli security in charge, and creating a new civilian government that is not connected to Hamas or the Palestinian Authority.
Even though most people agreed with the idea, some past top Israeli security officials said it shouldn't go forward because they were afraid of a long and expensive armed conflict. Families of prisoners protested outside of the Cabinet meeting in Jerusalem because they were afraid that the new operation would put their loved ones in Gaza in danger.
Even more operations and a humanitarian crisis
bout 75% of Gaza is already controlled or operated by the Israeli military, which attacks every day from the air and with weapons. The attack has destroyed a lot of the area, and the United Nations says that almost all of the 2.4 million people who live there have had to leave their homes at least once. Humanitarian groups, such as the UN, have warned many times that there will soon be no food in the Gaza Strip.
In an interview with Fox News, Prime Minister Netanyahu made it clear that Israel wants to take control of Gaza but not directly rule it. He said, "We want a security zone, not to rule Gaza."
Hamas was against the plan and said that Netanyahu was putting political goals ahead of the lives of Israeli prisoners. They also said that any furthering of the war would cost Israel a lot.
Internal Disputes and Military Strategy: According to Israeli media, Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi was against the full control plan and called it a "trap." Instead, he suggested other plans at a meeting that Netanyahu was in. But Defense Minister Yoav Gallant insisted that the army had to carry out what the government said about Gaza.
The choice also includes widening military operations into places with lots of people that are thought to have prisoners still alive, like Gaza City and central refugee camps. The action might take months, and more reservists would have to be called up.
More and more people around the world are calling for Israel to end the war because of the terrible situation in Gaza and the hostage problem that hasn't been solved. The attack on October 7 took 251 hostages. Of those, 49 are still in Gaza, and 27 are thought to be dead.
Families of the prisoners are still demanding that they be freed. On Thursday, many of them sailed near the coast of Gaza to protest. Inside the Strip, Palestinians who had to leave their homes said they were afraid of a new ground attack, which would have even worse effects on relief aid.
