Israel Plans to Occupy Gaza City between War; Cabinet Approves

According to reports from the Prime Minister’s Office, the Israeli security cabinet has approved Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s proposed plan to occupy Gaza City. The PMO has declared that it will offer humanitarian assistance to Gazans living outside of conflict zones. The source is according to the Times of Israel. Netanyahu’s plans for complete control of Gaza were previously expected to be discussed by the Israeli security cabinet. According to an official cited by news agency AP, whatever is officially agreed would be executed gradually. The Israeli prime minister has said that in order to “ensure security” and eradicate Hamas, he would completely annex Gaza, which it now controls around three-quarters of.

“We plan to eliminate Hamas there to ensure our security. According to Fox News, Netanyahu stated that the Israeli government does not wish to rule in Gaza. They said, “We want to turn it over to Arab forces that will govern it properly without threatening us and give Gazans a good life.”

Announcement Slammed

The declaration was met with criticism from Hamas. They referred to Netanyahu’s attempt to seize control of Gaza as a coup. “Netanyahu’s plans to escalate the aggression confirm beyond any doubt his desire to get rid of the captives and sacrifice them in pursuit of his personal interests and extremist ideological agenda,” Hamas stated in a statement.

Netanyahu’s plan coincides with a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. The UN agencies have warned of hunger and food assistance stations have been the target of several attacks. In recent weeks, hundreds of Palestinians have been slain en route to Gaza’s health ministry facilities, while thousands more hunger in the crisis-affected region.

Summary of Israel Planning to Take Over Gaza

Here is a quick rundown of the day’s key happenings:

• In a televised appearance, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Israel will “take control of all Gaza.” He also stated that Israel would transfer governance duties to an unnamed third party since it did not want to supervise them.
• There are now 197 Palestinians, including 96 children. They have perished from starvation as a result of Israel’s cruel siege of Gaza. The WHO says that about 12,000 children in Gaza under the age of five were acutely malnourished by July. This is the highest number on record.
• The Lebanese government approved a US-backed proposal to disarm the paramilitary group Hezbollah by the end of the year. Hezbollah officials said it would not disarm before Israeli forces, still occupying Lebanese territory in defiance of a truce agreement, left the country.
• The rights watchdog Human Rights Watch released a report stating that Israel has carried out hundreds of attacks on schools sheltering displaced people in Gaza since the beginning of the war. It  included “unlawfully indiscriminate” strikes with US-provided munitions.