Israel's Netanyahu plans to annex Gaza if Hamas rejects ceasefire

Israel will begin annexing parts of Gaza if Hamas does not agree to a ceasefire in the coming days under a proposal drawn up by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to sources.

The plan is aimed at retaining the support of the far-right members of the government and reportedly has the full backing of the Trump administration, Haaretz reported on Monday.

Netanyahu - who is wanted for war crimes and crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court (ICC) - was expected to put the proposal to the security cabinet, which met on Monday night, according to the news outlet.

This comes a few days after Netanyahu bowed to international pressure and began allowing more aid into Gaza.

The move has angered Israel's far-right - including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir - who want the military to continue the starvation siege on Gaza and expel the Palestinians from the strip.

Under the proposal, Israeli forces will begin by seizing a buffer zone followed by areas in the north around Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahia, according to Haaretz.

The military would progressively take more land until the entire enclave is annexed.

Smotrich told Netanyahu in recent days that he will "judge by actions" and will "remain in the government for the time being" if the annexation plan is carried out, according to sources.

In a speech on Tuesday, the extremist minister told supporters that Jewish resettlement of Gaza is now a realistic prospect.

"For twenty years, it was wishful thinking. Now, it is also a realistic work plan. We did not sacrifice these prices to transfer Gaza from one Arab nation to another. Gaza is an inseparable part of the land of Israel," Smotrich said at a conference marking the 20th anniversary of Israel's disengagement from the strip.

"No one in the world will let us fight the war and eliminate Hamas and the threat posed by Gaza, if we starve two million civilians."

There has been global outrage at the siege on Gaza, which has resulted in children starving to death and warnings from aid agencies that Israel is pushing the territory towards man-made famine.

Israel has responded by allowing sone aid trucks to cross the border and permitting countries to conduct airdrops, measures which relief agencies say are insufficient to address the territory's spiralling hunger crisis.

Jordan, which dropped 25 tonnes of aid over northern Gaza on Sunday alongside the United Arab Emirates, is planning a three-week airdrop operation in August.

Germany and Spain have said they will participate in the operation. The US has no plans to join the effort, ABC News reported Tuesday.

Any move to annex Gaza will likely trigger further global fury and could trigger punitive measures by Israel's closest allies.

It could also provide further momentum towards more countries recognising Palestinian statehood. France last week became the largest Western country yet to recognise Palestine and has sought to pressure other countries, such as the UK, to join it.

Israel is fiercely opposed to the two-state solution and claims sovereignty over the entire occupied West Bank.

The Knesset last week overwhelmingly backed annexing the territory in a symbolic vote.

Smotrich on Tuesday pledged to formally annex the West Bank during the current term, which is due to end in October 2026.

Israel is "making a revolution" in the West Bank, "implementing de facto sovereignty, regulating construction, making declarations, changing the DNA of the entire system and paving roads", he was quoted as saying at the conference.