The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is considering occupying the entire Gaza Strip. According to Israeli media, he will convene the security cabinet on Tuesday to make a decision on this plan.
Netanyahu confirmed on Monday that he wants to convene the cabinet this week to talk about how the army can achieve its goals in Gaza. According to him, those goals include “defeating the enemy, releasing hostages and ensuring that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel.”
According to Israeli media, Netanyahu wants to order the army to take over the entire Gaza Strip, including the areas where the hostages are being held. The Jerusalem Post is even more assertive. According to that newspaper, the prime minister’s office has already given the order. The message to the chief of staff of the armed forces was: “If you do not agree with this, you must resign.”
At the moment, Israel has almost complete control of the eastern half of the Gaza Strip. There is currently an evacuation order for residents in that area. Only a part on the west coast and a part in the north near Gaza City is not occupied by the Israeli army, as you can see in the red areas on the map below.
Netanyahu’s message follows after talks between delegates from Israel and Hamas about a cease-fire had stalled. The two warring parties are talking about an American proposal for a truce that lasts sixty days. During that time, Israel must let relief supplies into the Gaza Strip and Hamas must release half of the hostages. At the moment there are still twenty alive, reports news agency Reuters.
Netanyahu is under international pressure due to the persistent food shortages in Gaza. The international food watchdog IPC warned last week that the “worst imaginable scenario” is unfolding in Gaza due to widespread hunger and malnutrition.
Meanwhile, Netanyahu has imposed daily combat pauses in three areas in Gaza, so that the trucks with relief supplies can cross the border. So far, this has only been achieved on a limited scale. People are still dying every day while looking for help, and the number of deaths from hunger is increasing. This is evident from figures from the Palestinian Ministry of Health and aid organizations on the ground.
Netanyahu is also under increasing pressure in his own country, because he has not yet succeeded in bringing back all the hostages and he has not succeeded in destroying Hamas.