Israeli Plan to Take Control of Gaza City Sparks Backlash
Israel’s security cabinet approved Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s controversial plan to seize control of Gaza City by October 7. The plan is aimed at weakening Hamas, demilitarizing the Gaza Strip, and returning the hostages. It comes as Hamas has withdrawn from ceasefire negotiations, as Israel faces growing international criticism over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Israel already controls 75% of the Gaza Strip. The move could involve temporarily displacing around 1 million Palestinians — about half of Gaza's population, many of whom have been displaced numerous times throughout the 22-month war. The cabinet’s decision gives them less than two months to evacuate the area.
Critics, including Israel’s top general and several other senior security officials, warn that the plan endangers the lives of the roughly 20 Israeli hostages still believed to be alive after nearly two years of war. Hamas is also holding the remains of about 30 other hostages.
INSIDE THE PUSHBACK
One hostage’s father told the BBC that “Netanyahu prefers the hostages dead” so he can more easily “bomb everything” in the Gaza Strip. Netanyahu has insisted this plan will help free the hostages, as well as Gazans from Hamas’s stronghold.
Israel last withdrew from Gaza in 2005, after a 38-year occupation, citing security concerns and the growing cost of protecting Israeli settlers and soldiers there.
On Friday, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced that Germany would suspend exports of military equipment that could be used in the Gaza Strip “until further notice.” This marks an unprecedented break in policy from Israel’s closest ally in Europe, which supplies about 30% of Israel’s military imports — second to the U.S. The move is not expected to significantly affect Israel’s immediate military capabilities.
In response, Netanyahu’s office released a statement saying: “Instead of supporting Israel's just war against Hamas, which carried out the most horrific attack against the Jewish people since the Holocaust, Germany is rewarding Hamas terrorism by embargoing arms to Israel.”
Polling of Israelis has repeatedly shown that a majority favor ending the war in exchange for the release of the remaining hostages, and as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza worsens.