Reports: Netanyahu decides on ‘full occupation’ of Gaza Strip

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided that his forces should occupy the entire Gaza Strip, media reports said on Monday, amid mounting criticism of the dire humanitarian situation in the coastal territory.

Netanyahu reportedly plans to consult with his Cabinet and military leadership in the coming days to garner support for the plan.

News portal Ynetnews.com quoted a senior official said to be close to Netanyahu as saying: “The die is cast, we are going for a full occupation of the Gaza Strip.”

The Israeli prime minister himself said earlier that he was planning to convene the Security Cabinet to discuss further actions in Gaza, as the conflict nears 22 months.

In a video message published on Sunday, Netanyahu said that Palestinian extremist group Hamas refuses to agree to a negotiated solution.

Netanyahu launched a military campaign in the Gaza Strip in October 2023 in response to the Hamas-led attacks on Israel, which killed more than 1,200 people and saw another 250 abducted into Gaza.

Efforts to secure a ceasefire and the release of hostages through indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas have dragged on for months without results.

More than 60,000 Palestinians have reportedly been killed by Israeli attacks in Gaza. Meanwhile, a global outcry is growing as the embattled territory appears on the brink of famine after Israel imposed a near-total blockage on aid in March.

Israeli forces currently control about 75% of Gaza. The remaining 50 hostages, of whom about 20 are believed to be still alive, are suspected to be held in areas still under the control of Hamas.

Military critical of full occupation

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have repeatedly opposed a full occupation of the Gaza Strip, warning that demolishing all Hamas tunnels and bunkers could take years, according to the Times of Israel newspaper.

Military leaders have also warned that an offensive aimed at capturing all of Gaza could endanger the lives of the hostages, who they fear might be killed as soon as Israeli troops approach.

According to the reports, Netanyahu is now willing to accept that risk, however.

“There will be activity also in areas where hostages are being held,” the official quoted by ynetnews.com goes on to say. “If this doesn’t suit the IDF chief of staff [Eyal Zamir], he can resign.”

Until now, it was primarily ministers from the far-right and ultra-religious coalition partners in Netanyahu’s government who had called for the complete capture of the Gaza Strip.

They also demand the deportation of the Palestinian population to other countries and the establishment of Jewish settlements in the coastal strip.

According to media reports, Zamir is said to have engaged in heated discussions with the ultra-right ministers at previous meetings of the Security Cabinet.

Former security chiefs call for war to end

Meanwhile, more than a dozen former Israeli security officials issued a video appeal on Monday calling for an immediate end to the war in Gaza.

“This war started as a just war. It was a defensive war,” says Ami Ayalon, former director of the Shin Bet domestic intelligence service, in the video.

“But once we achieved all its military objectives, once we achieved a brilliant military victory against all our enemies, this war stopped being a just war.”

“It is leading the State of Israel to the loss of its security and identity,” he adds.

The video shows the men sat around a long table in what appears to be an empty office. Among the 19 former senior officials featured are former chief of staff and prime minister Ehud Barak, former chiefs of staff Moshe Ya’alon and Dan Halutz, and three former heads of the Mossad foreign intelligence service.

In the video, the men say the war is being continued for political reasons only and called for an agreement that returns all of the 50 remaining hostages in one go.

“We are on the precipice of defeat,” former Mossad director Tamir Pardo warns.

Several of them say Israel is being led by a fundamentalist, extremist government that no longer has the support of the majority.