Israel’s Security Cabinet has approved Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to take control of Gaza City, the Prime Minister’s Office confirmed Friday.
The operation, expected to last at least six months, aims to encircle the city, relocate around one million residents south, and dismantle Hamas infrastructure. Netanyahu said it marks the only path to defeating Hamas, adding in a Fox News interview that Israel intends to take military control of the entire Gaza Strip and later transfer governance to another authority.
The cabinet also adopted five principles for ending the war: disarming Hamas, returning all hostages, demilitarizing Gaza, maintaining Israeli security control, and establishing a civilian government independent of Hamas or the Palestinian Authority.
Satellite imagery reviewed by U.S. officials shows a significant IDF buildup along the Gaza border, with NBC reporting signs of an imminent major ground operation. Defense Minister Israel Katz emphasized that Hamas must be decisively defeated and said he and Netanyahu are authorized to implement the IDF’s battle plans.
A Hamas official warned that any force installed in Gaza post-Hamas would be treated as an occupying force linked to Israel.
