Israel plans to entirely occupy the stricken Gaza Strip as thousands more troops are being called up as Palestinians die of starvation and at least 20 more killed by Israeli strikes
Israel has agreed to plans to capture the entire Gaza Strip, driving hundreds of thousands into the South it was announced today as at least 20 more Palestinians were killed.
As many as 60,000 troops may be called up from the reserves in a major new escalation in the war against Hamas, as Palestinians starve to death from a two month aid block. All food, water, medical aid and shelter supplies into the Strip has been blocked since early March amid growing fears 65,000 children are suffering from severe malnutrition.
Now Israel ’s Security Cabinet has signed off plans to capture the entire Gaza Strip and remain in the territory for an unspecified amount of time, two Israeli officials said. The move, if implemented, would vastly expand Israel’s operations in the Palestinian territory and spark fierce international opposition. Israeli cabinet ministers approved the plan hours after the Israeli military chief said the army was calling up tens of thousands of reserve soldiers.
The new plan is aimed at helping Israel achieve its war aims of defeating Hamas and freeing hostages held in Gaza but would push hundreds of thousands of Palestinians south. So far since it ended the ceasefire in mid-March, Israel has unleashed fierce strikes on the territory that have killed hundreds, capturing swathes of territory and 50% of Gaza.
Before the truce ended, Israel stopped all humanitarian aid into Gaza, including food, fuel and water, setting off what is believed to be the worst humanitarian crisis in 19 months of war. The ban on aid has prompted widespread hunger and shortages have set off looting. The Israeli officials said the plan included the “capturing of the strip and the holding of territories.”
The plan would also seek to prevent the militant Hamas group from distributing humanitarian aid, which Israel says strengthens the group’s rule in Gaza. It also accuses Hamas of keeping the aid for itself to bolsters its capabilities. The plan also included powerful strikes against Hamas targets, the officials said.
The officials said Israel was in touch with several countries about President Donald Trump’s plan to take over Gaza and relocate its population. This would be under what Israel has termed “voluntary emigration” yet which has sparked condemnations from Israel’s allies in Europe and the Arab world.
For weeks, Israel has been trying to increase pressure on Hamas and prompt it to show more flexibility in ceasefire negotiations. But international mediators trying to bring the sides towards a new deal have struggled to do so. Israel’s measures do not appear to have moved Hamas away from its negotiating positions.
The memo, sent to aid organisations on Sunday, detailed notes from a meeting between the Israeli defence body in charge of co-ordinating aid to Gaza, Cogat, and the UN. The UN said the plan would leave large parts of the population, including the most vulnerable, Meanwhile, Israeli strikes across Gaza continued overnight, killing at least 20 people in the north.
Strikes hit Gaza City, Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya and among the dead were eight women and children, according to staff at the Shifa hospital, where the bodies were brought. The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages. Israel says 59 captives remain in Gaza, although about 35 are believed to be dead.
Israel’s offensive has killed more than 52,000 people in Gaza, many of them women and children, according to Palestinian health officials, who do not distinguish between combatants and civilians in their count. The fighting has displaced more than 90% of Gaza’s population, often multiple times.
Israel occupied Gaza in the 1967 Middle East war and withdrew troops and settlers in 2005. Two years later, Hamas took over and has controlled the territory since.