Israel poised to order new Gaza war plan

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JERUSALEM — Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepared Tuesday to unveil an updated Gaza war plan designed to destroy Hamas and secure the release of dozens of hostages, with Israeli media reporting he would order the total occupation of the Palestinian territory.

Netanyahu was expected to meet security chiefs in Jerusalem to issue new orders, even as Israel’s diplomats convened a UN Security Council meeting in New York to highlight the plight of Israelis held in Gaza.

The timing of the security meeting has not been officially confirmed. Netanyahu said Monday that it would be “in the coming days.”

Israeli broadcaster Channel 12 said Netanyahu would meet the army chief of staff, and the defence and army ministers. Unnamed senior officials told Israeli media he intends to order the re-occupation of Gaza.

“Netanyahu wants the Israeli army to conquer the entire Gaza Strip,” said a report on public broadcaster Kan.

“Several cabinet members who spoke with the prime minister confirmed that he has decided to extend the fight to areas where hostages might be held.”

The private daily Maariv declared: “The die is cast. We’re en route for the total conquest of Gaza.”

While the reconquest plan has not been officially confirmed, it has already drawn an angry response from the Palestinian Authority and Gaza’s Hamas-run government, which insisted it will not shift its position on ceasefire talks.

“We want to reach an agreement that ends the war. The ball is now in the hands of Israel and the Americans, who support Israeli positions and delay the conclusion of an agreement,” senior Hamas official Husam Badran told broadcaster Al Jazeera.

Desperate families

After 22 months of combat sparked by the Oct. 7, 2023 cross-border attacks by Hamas that killed 1,219 people and saw hundreds kidnapped, the Israeli army has devastated large parts of the Palestinian territory.

More than 60,933 Palestinians have been killed, according to figures from Hams-run Gaza’s health ministry, and humanitarian agencies have warned that the territory’s 2.4 million people are slipping into a catastrophic famine.

But Netanyahu is under pressure on several fronts.

Domestically, the desperate and vocal families of the 49 remaining hostages are demanding a ceasefire to bring their loved ones home.

Around the world, humanitarians are pushing for a truce to allow in food to the starving, and several European capitals have announced plans to recognise Palestinian statehood, despite fierce U.S. and Israeli opposition.

Meanwhile, Netanyahu’s far-right allies in his ruling coalition want to seize the opportunity of the war to reoccupy Gaza and tighten control of the occupied West Bank.

Foreign Minister Gideon Saar was in New York, where Israel’s U.S. ally was helping organise a Security Council meeting to focus world attention on the fate of the hostages rather than the looming famine — which Israeli spokespeople insist is an exaggerated threat.

The defence ministry civil affairs agency for the Palestinian territories, COGAT, said Tuesday that Israel will partially reopen private sector trade with Gaza to reduce its reliance on UN and aid agency convoys and international military airdrops.

“As part of formulating the mechanism, a limited number of local merchants were approved by the defence establishment, subject to several criteria and strict security screening,” COGAT said.

Israel has been fighting Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza for 22 months and imposed a total blockade on March 2, partially lifted in May to allow a U.S.-backed private agency to open food distribution centres.

Aid convoys and airdrops by Arab and European militaries resumed last month, as UN-mandated expert reports warned famine was unfolding in the war-torn territory.

The COGAT statement said private sector deliveries would be paid for by monitored bank transfers and be subject to inspections by the Israeli military before entering Gaza, “to prevent the involvement of the Hamas terrorist organisation.”

Staple foods

Permitted goods under the new mechanism will include food staples, fruit, vegetables, baby formula and hygiene products, COGAT said.

On Monday. Netanyahu insisted Israel’s war goals remained “the defeat of the enemy, the release of our hostages and the promise that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel.”

His statement came after hundreds of retired Israeli security chiefs wrote to U.S. President Donald Trump to urge him to convince Netanyahu to end the war, arguing that Israel has already scored a military victory and should seek to negotiate the hostages’ release.

The families of the hostages are also horrified by talk of escalation, accusing the government of putting their relatives in renewed danger, even as Palestinian groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad release propaganda videos showing emaciated captives.