Israel decides to extend the fighting in Gaza

The Israeli security cabinet approved a plan to capture the city of Gaza, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office announced early this morning. The committee approved a corresponding military operation after hours of deliberations.

According to the Prime Minister's Office, the Security Cabinet also decided on five principles to end the war in the Gaza Strip. These included military control of the coastal area by Israel, the complete disarmament of the Islamist Hamas and the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip. Subsequently, an alternative civilian government should also be established there.

According to media reports, Israel currently controls around three quarters of the largely destroyed coastal strip, which is home to around two million Palestinians. Since the beginning of the week, there has been speculation about a complete takeover of the Gaza Strip by Israel. According to the official announcement, the plans now announced do not go that far for the time being.

Possible negotiating tactics in ceasefire talks

Months of indirect negotiations between Israel and the terrorist organization Hamas on a new ceasefire and the release of further hostages had previously remained fruitless.

"I understand exactly what Hamas wants. They don't want a deal," Netanyahu recently stated in a video message. He is now even more determined to free the hostages, smash Hamas and ensure that the Gaza Strip will never again pose a threat to the state of Israel under the rule of the terrorist organization.

The media previously speculated that the now concrete announcement of an expansion of the fighting could also be part of a negotiating tactic to put Hamas under massive pressure in the negotiations for a ceasefire. Israeli politicians hinted at such a strategy. The N12 broadcaster reported that the mediating states Qatar and Egypt were already putting pressure on Hamas to return to the negotiating table.

Netanyahu: Israel does not want to occupy Gaza permanently

In an interview with the US broadcaster Fox News shortly before the start of the security cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said that Israel did not want to occupy the territory permanently, but rather liberate it from Hamas in order to eventually hand it over to other forces. These would have to be forces that did not call for the destruction of Israel like the Islamist terrorist organization Hamas.

Netanyahu went on to say: "We don't want to keep it (the Gaza Strip). We want to have a security border. We don't want to govern it." Specifically, Netanyahu said that he wanted to hand over the Gaza Strip to "Arab forces".

Concern about remaining hostages

According to Israeli estimates, there are currently 50 hostages still held by Hamas, around 20 of whom are believed to be alive. According to media reports, the army leadership had expressed reservations about the original plan to completely conquer the Gaza Strip.

There were repeated warnings that such an advance could endanger the hostages. Relatives of the abductees had also spoken out against military attempts to free them and urged an agreement to end the war. Critics accuse Netanyahu of prolonging the war for political reasons in order to satisfy his coalition partners.

The Gaza war was triggered by the attack on Israel by Hamas and other Islamist terrorist organizations on 7 October 2023, in which around 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 were taken hostage in the Gaza Strip. According to the Hamas-controlled health authority, more than 61,000 people have been killed since then.

Warning of famine and looting

The United Nations had described a further intensification of the fighting as "deeply alarming". Such a step could have "catastrophic consequences for millions of Palestinians", warned UN diplomat Miroslav Jenca a few days ago. According to UN figures based on satellite images, around 70 percent of houses in the Gaza Strip have been destroyed or severely damaged. In Chan Junis and parts of Rafah, the figure is said to be 80 to 90 percent.

The UN and international aid organizations are already urgently warning of a famine in the embattled Gaza Strip, where around two million people are living in catastrophic conditions. Israel is once again allowing large quantities of aid supplies to enter the blockaded territory. However, many of these supplies do not reach those most in need, as they are looted before they are distributed - by civilians and armed groups.