Israel approves plans to occupy Gaza, control aid distribution
Israel’s security cabinet approves a major operation that includes occupying Gaza and moving most of the population out of the north as the IDF chief warns it could mean ‘losing’ hostages.
Israel’s security cabinet approved a new ground operation to occupy territory in the Gaza Strip, in a strategic shift that would entail moving most of Gaza’s population to an area cleared of militants and taking control of aid distribution.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would retain a presence in areas it seizes in Gaza and would rely on the tens of thousands of reservists the military would call up as part of the offensive.
“One thing will be clear – they’re not going in and out,” Netanyahu said in a video posted to his X account on Monday, suggesting that Israeli troops wouldn’t quickly withdraw from cleared areas as they did in the first ground operation after the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attacks.
The prime minister’s comments appeared to clarify an earlier statement from an Israeli official that said the war plan approved Monday includes “conquering the strip and holding the territory.” The official didn’t clarify whether the occupation would include all of the enclave or just key areas, or how long Israeli troops would remain.
The new military operation comes after the appointment of a new military chief of staff, Eyal Zamir, who took over in early March after his predecessor resigned.
“He understands that in order to really eradicate Hamas, you need to take over the whole Gaza Strip,” said Amir Avivi, founder of the Israel Defence and Security Forum think tank, which has close relations with Israel’s government.
Mr Zamir warned ministers in recent days that Israel “could lose” the hostages in Gaza if it launched a major operation, the country’s Channel 13 TV reports
Terrorists in Gaza are holding 59 hostages, including at least 35 who have been confirmed dead.
“In a plan for a full-scale manoeuvre, we won’t necessarily reach the hostages,” the network quoted Zamir as saying in a meeting. “Keep in mind that we could lose them.”
Israel has steadily ratcheted up pressure on Hamas since the truce lapsed. It started with the blockade on all aid and commercial goods, resuming aerial bombardment and limited ground operations later in the month.
The new offensive will begin gradually over the next two weeks in order to pressure the U.S.-designated terrorist group to accede to Israeli terms in a ceasefire for hostage-release deal before President Trump’s expected visit to the Middle East in mid-May.
Trump has repeatedly warned Hamas that it would face a resumption of violence if the group didn’t release all remaining hostages.
“Hamas bears sole responsibility for this conflict, and for the resumption of hostilities,” National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes said in a statement.
The new offensive breaks with the strategy Israel’s military pursued in its initial ground operation, when it raided Hamas strongholds and then retreated, allowing Hamas to re-infiltrate areas once the troops departed and rebuild. Zamir, Israel’s new military chief and a former tank commander, has advocated a more aggressive approach to destroying Hamas.
“He understands that in order to really eradicate Hamas, you need to take over the whole Gaza Strip,” said Amir Avivi, founder of the Israel Defense and Security Forum think tank, which has close relations with Israel’s government.
As part of the war plan, Israel’s cabinet also approved a call-up of thousands of reservists to aid operations in Gaza, officials said. They said the pool of mobilised reservists would increase over time and could reach tens of thousands.
The Israeli military’s chief spokesman, Effie Defrin, said the plan would require moving most of Gaza’s population to an area it said would be cleared of militants. Aid groups have routinely cautioned against further displacing Gaza’s civilians, many of whom are living in temporary shelters and have had to move several times since fighting started.
Aid groups have recently warned that supplies of essentials such as food, fuel, clean water and medicine are running dangerously low, deepening the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and leading to an uptick in incidents of looting.
Mohammad Alayyan, 57, a resident of Beit Lahia in northern Gaza, said his family hasn’t received any aid since the blockade began, and they are running out of food. He said he and 10 relatives crammed in a two-room house are now down to one meal a day, surviving off split red lentils and macaroni.
“There’s simply nothing else available,” he said.
In the same session, the cabinet on Monday approved a plan to resume aid to Gaza by setting up about six to 10 aid-distribution sites that would be protected by private US security contractors. It is an attempt by Israel to prevent Hamas from co-opting aid and using it to maintain control over the population. Israel accuses Hamas of stealing and diverting aid to fund its war effort.
Aid groups say the claim is blown out of proportion and that humanitarian needs outweigh the risks. Israel has long pressed humanitarian-aid organisations to do more to monitor their stocks. Aid organisations say they have verification systems in place to prevent misdirection of their goods.
In a joint statement on Sunday, humanitarian groups working in Gaza, including UN agencies, said they wouldn’t take part in Israel’s current proposal because it would put civilians and aid workers at risk while also violating humanitarian principles. The statement said the plan “appears designed to reinforce control over life-sustaining items as a pressure tactic – as part of a military strategy”. The cabinet hasn’t said when the plan would go into effect, Israeli officials said.
Under Israel’s proposal, aid would be distributed through a number of designated hubs, according to a spokeswoman for the UN’s humanitarian office in Gaza, Olga Cherevko. Civilians would need to collect goods from these hubs, which she said would mean that assistance isn’t equally accessible and could put them at risk by forcing them to travel through areas of ongoing conflict.
Aid groups also say the plan would violate their policy of neutrality by giving a party to the conflict, in this case Israel, too much control over who gets aid and how.
“Further control over aid operations by a party to the conflict would risk aid not reaching the most vulnerable at a time when it is needed the most,” Ms Cherevko said.
Tense relations between Israel and humanitarian-aid organisations worsened at the end of last year, when Israel’s parliament passed legislation aimed at curbing the activities of the UN Relief and Works Agency, which played a major role in aid distribution across Gaza. Israel has alleged that UNRWA employs militants on its staff, while UNRWA says it hasn’t received sufficient evidence to support claims of a widespread problem.
Aid organisations have accused Israel of failing to protect humanitarian workers. Israeli troops killed 15 Palestinian emergency workers in late March, with the military later acknowledging mistakes and breaches of orders that led to the firing of a field commander.
The military also admitted that Israeli tank fire killed an international UN staffer in March after first denying it. In April 2024, seven staff of the non-profit World Central Kitchen were killed in an air strike that led to an international uproar and scrutiny of Israeli targeting policy in Gaza.
The Wall Street Journal
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