Gaza latest: Netanyahu says he wants Israel to take control of entire enclave as Cabinet meeting begins – UK Times

An Israeli official has said the Security Cabinet is expected to hold a lengthy debate and approve an expanded military plan to conquer all or parts of Gaza not yet under Israeli control.

The official said that whatever is approved would be implemented gradually and in stages, with the idea of increasing pressure on Hamas.

The comments appear to have exposed a rift between Mr Netanyahu and his army.

Israel’s army chief, Lt Gen Eyal Zamir, has warned that the plan would endanger the hostages and further strain Israel’s army, which has been stretched thin during a nearly two-year war, according to Israeli media.

Such a step has also drawn opposition across Israel, with hostage families saying it could threaten their loved ones.

At least 42 Palestinians have been killed in airstrikes and shootings across southern Gaza, according to local hospitals.

Of the 42 people killed on Thursday, at least 13 were seeking aid in an Israeli military zone in southern Gaza where UN aid convoys are regularly overwhelmed by looters and desperate crowds.

Another two were killed on roads leading to nearby sites run by the Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an American contractor, according to Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies.

Neither the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation nor the Israeli military, which helps secure the group’s sites, commented on the strikes or shootings. The military zone, known as the Morag Corridor, is off limits to independent media.

The Israeli military has accused Hamas of operating in densely populated civilian areas.

As Netanyahu intends to put forward plans to occupy Gaza to his security cabinet, Palestinians are braced for further misery.

“There is nothing left to occupy,” said Maysaa al-Heila, who is living in a displacement camp. “There is no Gaza left.”

Israel’s 22-month offensive has already killed tens of thousands of people, displaced most of the population, destroyed vast areas and caused severe and widespread hunger.

At least 42 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes and shootings across southern Gaza on Thursday, according to local hospitals.

UN official Miroslav Jenča warned the UN Security Council yesterday against any expansion of Israel’s military operations.

“This would risk catastrophic consequences for millions of Palestinians and could further endanger the lives of the remaining hostages in Gaza,” he said.

He added that under international law, Gaza “is and must remain an integral part of a future Palestinian state”.

Israel’s security cabinet is set to meet today and discuss a military takeover of Gaza, an idea which has caused controversy across Israel.

The security cabinet session follows a meeting this week with the head of the military, which Israeli officials have described as tense, saying the military chief had pushed back on expanding the campaign.

Opinion polls show that most Israelis want the war to end in a deal that would see the release of the remaining hostages held by Hamas-led Palestinian militants.isr

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he wants Israel to take military control of all of Gaza in a significant expansion of the war effort.

“We intend to,” Netanyahu said in an interview with Fox News when asked if Israel would take over the entire coastal territory.

“We don’t want to keep it. We want to have a security perimeter.”

But he added: “We don’t want to govern it. We don’t want to be there as a governing body.”