Kochi: Israel is planning to implement its cabinet’s decision to take control of Gaza City, in the north of the enclave, for the first time during this conflict, BBC reported.
About 75 per cent of Gaza city is already under the control of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
The UN estimates some 87% of the territory is either in militarised zones or under evacuation orders. Further south, there are areas on the central Gaza Strip, along the Mediterranean coast, that Israel does not occupy, according to the UN.
These areas include refugee camps, where much of Gaza’s population is currently living after their homes were destroyed by Israel’s military. After a marathon meeting of Israel’s security cabinet in Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office released a statement approving a plan to take control of Gaza City.
“The IDF will prepare to take control of Gaza City while providing humanitarian aid to the civilian population outside the combat zones,” it said.
“Principles for ending the war” include disarmament of Hamas, return of all hostages, demilitarisation of the Gaza Strip, Israeli security control over the Gaza Strip and the existence of an alternative civilian government that is not Hamas or the Palestinian Authority.
“An absolute majority of cabinet ministers believed that the alternative plan presented to the cabinet would not achieve the defeat of Hamas or the return of the abductees,” the statement concludes.
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Israel to take over Gaza
