Israel approves plan to expand Gaza onslaught, occupy territories – Middle East Monitor

Israel’s security cabinet unanimously approved a plan early Monday to expand its urban planner at the Gaza Strip and occupy territories within the enclave, Anadolu informs.

In a statement, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the cabinet approved “the operational plan” presented by the head of the Eyal Zamir army to “defeat Hamas” and return to the Israeli captives in Gaza.

According to the statement, the plan requires the army to “conquer Gaza and keep the territory under its control.”

Israeli channel 12 said the plan also includes the forced relocation of Palestinians from northern Gaza to the south.

Israeli communications minister Shlomo Karhi said the Israeli plan will help accelerate the relocation of Palestinians outside Gaza under the plan of the president of the United States, Donald Trump.

Karhi said that the migration of Palestinians of Gaza is “the solution” for the enclave, according to the public broadcaster Kan.

There is “political activity” for Israel in the search for countries that can accept Palestinians from Gaza, he added.

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On February 4, Trump said that the United States “will take charge” and “owns” Gaza, describing it as a “completely destroyed” area. The idea has been rejected by the Arab world and many other nations, which say it is equivalent to ethnic cleaning.

There were no immediate Palestinian comments about the Israeli plan.

Israeli estimates suggest that there are 59 captives in Gaza, with 24 believing alive. In contrast, more than 9,500 Palestinians remain imprisoned in Israel in hard conditions, including reports of torture, starvation and medical negligence, according to the organizations of Palestinian and Israeli rights.

More than 52,500 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in a brutal Israeli onslaught since October 2023, most of them women and children.

The International Criminal Court issued trial orders in November for Netanyahu and its former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a case of genocide in the International Court of Justice for its war in the enclave.

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