Israel's Security Cabinet has approved radical plans 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," a statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office read early on Friday morning.
Earlier, Netanyahu had outlined plans to take military control of the entire Gaza Strip.
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He told Fox News: "We don't want to keep it. We want to have a security perimeter. We don't want to govern it. We don't want to be there as a governing body."
He added that the territory would be handed over to Arab forces to govern - but did not elaborate on which countries could be involved.
Israel's Security Cabinet has approved on Friday morning plans to take control of Gaza City
|REUTERS
The Security Cabinet has now provided a five-point plan to conclude the war, including:
- The disarming of Hamas;
- The return of all the hostages - both living and dead;
- The demilitarisation of the Gaza territory;
- Israeli security control of the Gaza territory;
- The establishment of an "alternative civil administration" that is neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority.
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The Security Cabinet has now provided a five-point plan to conclude the war
|REUTERS
One scenario said to have been considered ahead of the security meeting was a phased takeover of areas in Gaza not yet under military control.
One Israeli source told Reuters that evacuation warnings could soon be issued to Palestinians in specific areas of Gaza, potentially giving them several weeks before the IDF rolls in.
That would mark the first time that the city has been placed under evacuation orders since the start of the war in 2023 after Hamas terrorists killed thousands of Israelis on October 7.
However, in a statement, Hamas called Netanyahu's plans "a blatant coup" against the negotiation process.
In a statement, Hamas called Netanyahu's plans 'a blatant coup' against the negotiation process
|REUTERS
It said: "Netanyahu's plans to expand the aggression confirm beyond any doubt that he seeks to get rid of his captives and sacrifice them."
Fifty hostages remain held in Gaza, of whom Israeli officials believe 20 are alive.
Most of those released so far were as a result of diplomatic negotiations.
Any resolution by the Security Cabinet still requires the approval of the full Cabinet, which may not meet until Sunday.