Israel’s security cabinet has backed a plan to broaden the military offensive against Hamas despite warnings from the chief of staff that it could lead to the remaining hostages being “lost”.
An Israeli official quoted by Times of Israel said the plan provides for the “conquering of Gaza and holding the territories.” The official said it will see the IDF take control of territory in Gaza, move the civilian population toward the south, attack Hamas and prevent the terror group from taking control of humanitarian aid.
Even in the event oof a new hostage deal, far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said, the territory would not be returned. “We are finally going to occupy the Gaza Strip. We will stop being afraid of the word ‘occupation,’” he said.
The cabinet approved a proposal to renew aid deliveries into Gaza but in way that would minimise diversion of the goods by Hamas. It’s reported that the plan would have international organisations and private security contractors hand out boxes of food to individual Gazan families.
In the belly of the beast: Israeli captive Arbel Yehoud, 29, who had been held hostage by Hamas in Gaza since October 7, 2023, is escorted by Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters as she is handed over to the Red Cross in Khan Younis
It is understood that the approved plans will only come into effect after Donald Trump’s visit to the region next week.
Israel’s Channel 13 news reported Sunday evening that Chief of Staff Zamir had warned ministers in recent days that Israel “could lose” the hostages in Gaza if it launches a major operation in the Strip.
Channel 13 quoted IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir as telling ministers: “In a plan for a full-scale manoeuvre, we won’t necessarily reach the hostages. Keep in mind that we could lose them.” Zamir reportedly said the dual aims of defeating Hamas and rescuing the hostages “are problematic in relation to each other”.
Speaking at the annual Bible Contest in Jerusalem on Yom Ha’atzmaut, Netanyahu said that while freeing captives was “a very important goal”, the “supreme objective” is military victory.
“We have many goals in this war. We want to bring all our hostages home, we’ve brought back 147 alive, 196 in total,” he said. “There are another 24 alive, 59 total, and we want to return the living and the dead. It’s a very important goal. War has a supreme goal. The supreme goal is victory over our enemies, and this we will achieve.”
The comments triggered a furious response from the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, who accused the prime minister of abandoning the central moral imperative of the war.
