Israel divided as reports indicate plans for 'full occupation' of Gaza
The Prime Minister has been hinting in recent days of an expanded campaign in the Palestinian enclave, with senior officials telling Israeli media major operations are imminent. Mr Netanyahu is reportedly using the term 'occupation' to describe the plan in conversations with ministers.
Israeli network Channel 12 said the Prime Minister would hold a security meeting about the plan on Tuesday, with a Cabinet meeting reportedly set to take place at some point this week.
The new plan reportedly involves pushing troops into the estimated 25 per cent of Gaza's territory that the Israeli military has not yet occupied. These areas include central parts of refugee camps that Israel has so far deemed too dangerous to enter for fear of endangering the lives of hostages that might be held there.
There are no indications from Israel about what such a plan would mean for Gaza's civilians, whose lives are already blighted by rising starvation after months of an Israeli blockade. Efforts in recent weeks to increase aid distribution have been chaotic and a major new military operation would be expected to complicate humanitarian efforts.
Israeli military chief Lt Gen Eyal Zamir is reported to be strongly opposed to the plan, given the complexity of dismantling areas in which Hamas is deeply embedded. The toll such an operation would take on exhausted troops after 669 days of war is also thought to be of concern.
Many human rights bodies considered Gaza to fully occupied even before the war, with Israel controlling access by land and sea as well as the territory's airspace. Mr Netanyahu's plan would, however, extend Israeli control over the strip to a new level, paving the way for a potential total displacement of Gazan civilians and even annexation, a major goal of some members of his far-right government who want Israel to resettle the area.
Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir piled pressure on the army chief over his alleged reluctance. 'The Chief of Staff is required to state clearly that he will fully comply with the directives of the political echelon, even if a decision is made for conquest and decisive action,' the minister wrote on X.
Other ministers expressed support for Lt Gen Zamir, with Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar writing on X: 'The Chief of Staff is required to express his professional opinion clearly and unequivocally to the political echelon. I am convinced that he will do so.'
Opposition leader Yair Lapid called for any differences over the occupation plan to remain behind closed doors, writing on X that 'soldiers don't need to think that a divided and conflicted leadership is leading them, that the political echelon does not respect their commander, that they are selling them out for a headline'.
The latest tension comes against a backdrop of rising anger in Israel over the war, now in its 23rd month. Hundreds of retired Israeli security officials, including former heads of intelligence agencies, urged US President Donald Trump on Monday to pressure Israel's leadership to end the war.
'It is our professional judgment that Hamas no longer poses a strategic threat to Israel,' the former officials wrote in an open letter.
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