Israeli Defence Minister reviews plan for seizing Gaza City

Jerusalem, Aug 15 (IANS) Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has said that he had reviewed a military plan for seizing Gaza City, signalling preparations for what would be one of the most extensive ground operations in Gaza since the war began in October 2023.

Katz met at military headquarters in Tel Aviv on Thursday with Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir and other top Commanders, who presented the main principles of an operation to conquer Gaza City and other areas where Israel has not yet gained full control, Xinhua news agency reported.

The plan was approved by the security Cabinet earlier this week.

"Israel is determined to defeat Hamas in Gaza, free all the hostages and bring the war to an end," Katz said in a statement issued on his behalf.

"The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) is mobilising all its forces and preparing with great force to implement the Cabinet's decision. We will act as one fist until the mission is complete," he added.

Israel's security cabinet has approved a plan by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the military occupation of Gaza City, located in the north of the Palestinian enclave.

"The (Israeli military) will prepare to take control of Gaza City while providing humanitarian aid to the civilian population outside the combat zones," Netanyahu's office said in a statement early on Friday announcing the takeover plan.

Netanyahu's comments followed reports in Israeli media earlier this week that the Israeli leader would imminently announce plans to fully occupy the entirety of the Gaza Strip.

Hamas said Netanyahu's comments "represent a blatant reversal of the negotiation process and clearly expose the real motives behind his withdrawal from the last ceasefire round, despite our nearing a final agreement".

"His plans to expand the aggression confirm beyond doubt that he seeks to abandon his own prisoners, sacrificing them to serve his personal interests and extremist ideological agenda," the group said in a statement.

Israeli Opposition leader Yair Lapid said the decision to take over Gaza City was a "disaster that will lead to many more disasters".

The plan will "take months, lead to the death of the hostages, the killing of many soldiers, cost tens of billions to the Israeli taxpayers, and lead to a political collapse," he wrote in a post on X.

"This is exactly what Hamas wanted: for Israel to be trapped in the field without a goal, without defining the picture of the day after, in a useless occupation that no one understands where it is leading."

As Israeli forces continued their assault in Gaza, local health authorities said on Thursday that at least 50 people were killed across the enclave over the past 24 hours and 831 others wounded.

Since October 2023, at least 61,776 people have been killed by Israeli strikes and gunfire, the authorities said.

--IANS

int/khz