Netanyahu Plans Gaza City Takeover with Civilian Evacuation Aid
Netanyahu Signals Gaza City Takeover Plan, Pledges Humanitarian Aid for Civilians
JERUSALEM – Israel is preparing a plan for the military to take control of Gaza City while ensuring humanitarian assistance for civilians outside combat zones, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced Friday.
The city, the largest in the enclave’s north, could soon see a ground offensive as part of a strategy that involves evacuating Palestinian civilians before operations begin, according to Axios reporter Barak Ravid, citing an Israeli official.
Speaking to Fox News on Thursday, Netanyahu confirmed Israel intends to take control of the entire coastal territory but stressed it does not seek to govern Gaza permanently.
“We don’t want to keep it. We want to have a security perimeter. We don’t want to be there as a governing body,” he said, adding that Israel hopes to hand over control to Arab forces without specifying which countries might participate.
The comments came ahead of a meeting with senior ministers to discuss expanding military control in Gaza. Sources described earlier meetings with military chief Eyal Zamir as tense, with the top commander pushing back against escalation. Netanyahu’s office later said most members of the political-security cabinet believed alternative plans would fail to defeat Hamas or secure the release of Israeli hostages.
A phased takeover of remaining areas in Gaza is among the scenarios being considered, with possible evacuation warnings to give residents several weeks to leave before any advance. Such a move would reverse Israel’s 2005 withdrawal from Gaza, which right-wing parties blame for Hamas’s rise to power in 2006.
Hamas condemned Netanyahu’s comments, calling them a “blatant coup” against negotiations and accusing him of endangering captives. Arab countries, including Jordan, insisted they would only support arrangements approved by Palestinians. Hamas officials warned that any foreign force governing Gaza would be treated as an occupying power.
The U.N. expressed alarm over reports of an expanded Israeli operation, while in Jerusalem, hundreds of protesters gathered outside Netanyahu’s office on Thursday night, demanding an end to the war in exchange for the release of all hostages. Families of captives urged military leaders to resist widening the conflict.
Israel’s government maintains it will not stop until Hamas is dismantled and hostages freed, following the group’s deadly October 2023 attack. However, opinion polls show most Israelis favor a negotiated deal to end the fighting.
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