Tel Aviv
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The Israeli security cabinet is set to convene today to review plans for seizing control of Gaza City, as the government faces mounting international pressure and unprecedented domestic opposition, even from Israel’s own security leaders.
The review is merely a formal update for the full security cabinet, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz already approved the IDF’s plans earlier this month. But it comes as Israel faces a crucial few weeks at home and abroad.
Alongside the planned military escalation, Netanyahu and the cabinet – made up of senior officials including Katz and far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir – are expected to discuss a diplomatic offensive in response to the anticipated wave of recognition for Palestinian statehood at next month’s UN General Assembly.
Netanyahu is considering measures ranging from full annexation of the West Bank, to partial annexation of selected settlements, to sanctioning the Palestinian Authority, according to two Israeli officials.
Annexing any part of the occupied West Bank by applying Israeli sovereignty would violate multiple UN Security Council resolutions and spark an enormous diplomatic backlash. But it’s exactly what Netanyahu’s far-right coalition partners are demanding.
As it considers what steps to take in the West Bank, the Israeli government is pushing forward with the military assault on Gaza City despite growing pressue to pursue a diplomatic route would end the nearly two-year war.
The Israeli military carried out intense strikes in and around Gaza City in recent days as it prepares for to take over and occupy the city itself.
At least 47 people were killed in Gaza City alone on Saturday, according to Gaza hospital figures.
Hamas continues to have a presence in Gaza despite nearly two years of fighting and one of the latest Israel attacks killed Hamas spokesperson Abu Obaida, Katz said.
“Soon, as the campaign in Gaza intensifies, many more of his partners in crime – the murderers and rapists of Hamas – will join him there,” he added.
The attacks also come amid a worsening humanitarian crisis in the battered enclave, as the Palestinian health ministry said said on Sunday that another seven people died of malnutrition, bringing the total deaths from malnutrition to 339.
The most significant opposition to Israel’s takeover of Gaza City is the country’s security establishment, led by IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, who has warned Netanyahu and his cabinet that the Gaza City offensive will endanger the remaining hostages, risk soldiers’ lives, and deepen the humanitarian crisis in the enclave.
Two Israeli sources told CNN that Zamir’s main concern and focus is the fate of the hostages, and he is expected to urge the cabinet to discuss negotiations on the latest ceasefire proposal before escalating the war. The sources said this position is endorsed by most of the heads of other security agencies, as well.
Earlier this month Hamas accepted the Qatari and Egyptian mediators most recent offer for a 60-day temporary ceasefire, during which 10 of the living hostages would be returned in exchange for a mass release of Palestinian prisoners. The offer is based on a similar proposal presented by the US special envoy Steve Witkoff in July, originally crafted in coordination with Israel.
However, Netanyahu, in coordination with the White House, has recently shifted strategy. After months of insisting on negotiating only phased and partial frameworks, he now says he is willing to discuss only a comprehensive deal that would release all of the hostages and end the war on Israeli terms and conditions.
As a result, Israel still hasn’t responded to Hamas’s acceptance of the Qatari-Egyptian proposal on August 18.
According to two senior Israeli officials, Netanyahu does not intend to raise the negotiations in today’s cabinet meeting as well, though the issue may come up during the presentation on Gaza City. The fact that the deal isn’t formally on the agenda indicates how low the proposal is on Netanyahu’s priority list.
