Israeli cabinet approves Gaza occupation as army warns forces 'worn out'

The Israeli cabinet has approved plans to occupy the Gaza Strip, despite strong pushback from the military, which has warned that its forces are exhausted and that the move would endanger Israeli captives held in the enclave.

The decision, made during a 10-hour security cabinet meeting on Thursday, saw most ministers back five goals to end the war, according to the prime minister's office.

These include "the disarming of Hamas; the return of all hostages – living and dead; the demilitarisation of the Gaza Strip; Israeli control in the Gaza Strip; and the establishment of an alternative civil administration that is neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority", according to the statement.

Under the plan, the military would "prepare for taking control of Gaza City while distributing humanitarian assistance to the civilian population outside the combat zones".

Current aid mechanisms, led by the Israeli- and US-backed Gaza humanitarian foundation, have already seen Israeli and private contractors kill hundreds of Palestinians waiting to collect food.

A senior official told Haaretz there were no plans to enter central Gaza or occupy refugee camps, but another official told The Times of Israel that after seizing Gaza City, the military would move on to the rest of the enclave.

Forced displacement of Gaza City's residents is reportedly set to be completed by 7 October 2025, when the operation is expected to begin.

Commercial satellite images reviewed by NBC show a military build-up along the Gaza border consistent with preparations for a new ground invasion, with four sources telling the outlet the images indicated an imminent large-scale operation.

Israeli media noted that omitting the term "occupation" from the official statement was intended to avoid legal obligations under international law to provide for Gaza's population and prevent their forced displacement.

One senior official told Ynet that, regardless of the terminology, "in practice, the intention is the occupation of Gaza".

Israeli pushback, Hamas defiance

The cabinet's decision comes on the back of major disagreements with the Israeli military, with Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir warning that such an operation would endanger the remaining Israeli captives in Gaza.

Zamir was quoted by Israel's Channel 12 as saying: "The lives of the hostages will be in danger if we go ahead with this plan to occupy Gaza. There is no way to guarantee that we will not harm them."

"Our forces are worn out, the military tools need maintenance, and there are humanitarian and sanitary [concerns regarding the Palestinian population]", he added.

He estimated that a full occupation of Gaza would take up to two years to complete, with fighting during the initial phase lasting five months, according to TOI.

Alongside military pushback, Israel's negotiating team also argued against any plan that could scupper any future ceasefire deal.

Within Israel, the announcement has been slammed by opposition parties, with head of Yesh Atid, Yair Lapid, saying the move was "a disaster that will lead to many more disasters," and that it was made "in complete contradiction to the opinion of military and security ranks".

The Democratic Union leader Yair Golan also called the decision "a disaster for generations", adding that "more hostages will be abandoned to their deaths."

Avigdor Liberman, head of Yisrael Beytenu, also noted the military's opposition to the plan, saying "the prime minister of October 7 is once again sacrificing the security of Israeli citizens for the sake of his seat."

Meanwhile, the families of Israeli captives called Netanyahu's decision "a death warrant for the living hostages - and a sentence of disappearance for the deceased hostages."

Following the decision, Hamas vowed to continue its "resistance" in Gaza, accusing Israel of "a clear reversal of the course of negotiations" aimed at seeing a ceasefire in the enclave. 

Hamas said that Netanyahu was "seeking to get rid of the hostages and sacrifice them to serve his personal interests and extremist ideological agendas."

Likewise, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, which is also fighting Israel in Gaza, said that Netanyahu "neither cares about the lives of his soldiers and officers who are exhausted by war and are on the verge of collapse, nor does he care about the lives of the starving people in Gaza."

International condemnation

Following the news, states around the world have condemned Netanyahu's decision, with the UN calling for Israel to halt the plan.

Volker Turk, the UN human rights chief, said: "It runs contrary to the International Court of Justice that Israel must bring its occupation to an end as soon as possible, to the realisation of the agreed two-State solution and to the right of Palestinians to self-determination."

The UK's Kier Starmer echoed those calls, saying that "this action will do nothing to end this conflict or to help secure the release of the hostages."

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong called on Israel"to not go down this path, which will only worsen the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza."

China also expressed "serious concern" over the decision, saying that "a complete resolution to the Gaza conflict hinges on a ceasefire; only then can a path to de-escalation be paved and regional security ensured."

Meanwhile, Turkey's foreign ministry called on "the international community to fulfil its responsibilities to prevent the implementation of this decision, which aims to forcibly displace Palestinians from their own land."

A Jordanian official told Reuters that Arab states would only support what Palestinians decide regarding how Gaza is managed, adding that "the Arabs will not agree to Netanyahu's policies and will not fix what he has ruined."

Israel's war on Gaza has killed 61,258 Palestinians, wounded a further 152,045, and left the enclave uninhabitable.