A senior Israeli defence official said on Monday there was a “window of opportunity” for a hostage deal in Gaza during US President Donald Trump’s visit to the region next week. However, Reuters reports, if no deal is agreed Israel would begin its new operation in the enclave. “If there is no hostage deal, Operation ‘Gideon Chariots’ will begin with great intensity and will not stop until all its goals are achieved,” he said, following a decision by the security cabinet to approve an expanded operation. Israel is to expand its military operations in Gaza in the coming weeks, with the aim of “conquering” the territory and establishing a “sustained presence” there, Israeli officials have said. The plan, which was unanimously approved at a security cabinet meeting late on Sunday, goes beyond any aims so far outlined by Israel for its offensive in the devastated Palestinian territory and is likely to prompt deep international concern and fierce opposition. Officials told reporters in Israel that the plan would involve a new and intense offensive leading to “the conquest of Gaza and the holding of the territories, moving the Gaza population south for their protection [and] … powerful blows against Hamas”. After a fragile ceasefire collapsed in mid-March, Israel renewed its bombardment of Gaza, with troops reinforcing kilometre-deep “buffer zones” along the perimeter of Gaza and expanding their hold over much of the north and south of the territory. The European Union has called for restraint from Israel after the country’s security cabinet approved the expansion of military operations in Gaza. “The European Union is concerned at the planned extension of the operation by Israeli forces in Gaza, which will result in further casualties and suffering for the Palestinian population. We urge Israel to exercise the utmost restraint,” EU spokesman Anouar El Anouni said. AP provides some analysis of Israel’s new plan to expand its operations in Gaza – and potentially capture the entire territory. The new plan, which two officials said was meant to help Israel achieve its war aims of defeating Hamas and freeing hostages held in Gaza, also calls for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to move to Gaza’s south — which would likely lead to their forcible displacement and exacerbate an already dire humanitarian crisis. Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005 after a decades-long occupation and then imposed a blockade on the territory along with Egypt. Capturing and potentially occupying the territory again for an indefinite period would not only further dash hopes for Palestinian statehood, it would embed Israel inside a population that is deeply hostile to it and raise questions about how Israel plans to govern the territory, especially at a time when it is considering how to implement US president Donald Trump’s vision to take over Gaza. The Israel Defence Forces said a strike on Gaza’s Khan Younis yesterday destroyed a Hamas rocket position. The IDF posted a video of the strike on X. It said secondary explosions in the clip indicated “the presence of rockets prepared for launch toward Israeli territory”. The Guardian could not independently verify the footage or the IDF’s claim it had destroyed a Hamas position. Overnight attacks on the Khan Younis refugee camp killed at least 11 people including three babies up to a year old, Gazan officials said. It is not clear if the strike in the IDF footage is related to these casualties. Israel will not withdraw from the Gaza Strip even if there is another hostage deal is reached, far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich has insisted as he called on Israelis to embrace the word “occupation.” “We are finally going to occupy the Gaza Strip. We will stop being afraid of the word ‘occupation,’” Smotrich told Channel 12 journalist Amit Segal during a conference organised by Israel’s right-wing Besheva newspaper. “We are finally taking control of all humanitarian aid, so that it does not become supplies for Hamas. We are separating Hamas from the population, cleansing the Strip, returning the hostages — and defeating Hamas,” he said. “The only way to release the hostages is to subdue Hamas. Any retreat will bring about the next October 7,” he said. “Once as we occupy and stay [in Gaza] we can talk about sovereignty. But I did not demand that this be included among the goals of the war. First, we will defeat Hamas and prevent it from existing.” AFP provides some more detail on Israel’s plans to intensify its operations in Gaza, with the official saying Israel was planning the “conquest” of the territory. The Israeli official said the plan for expanded operations “will include, among other things, the conquest of the Gaza Strip and the holding of the territories, moving the Gaza population south for their protection”. The majority of Gaza’s population had resided in the north of the territory, particularly Gaza City, and nearly all have been displaced at least once since the war began. The cabinet, which includes prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and several ministers, “unanimously approved” the plan aimed at defeating Gaza’s rulers Hamas and securing the return of hostages held in the territory. The official source said the plan included “powerful strikes against Hamas”, without specifying their nature. One of Pope Francis’s popemobiles is being transformed into a mobile health clinic for children in the Gaza Strip, fulfilling one of his final wishes, the Vatican said yesterday. The vehicle, used by the late pontiff during his 2014 visit to the Holy Land, is being outfitted with diagnostic and emergency medical equipment to help young patients in the Palestinian territory, where health services have been devastated by the Israeli invasion. Israel’s expansion announcement has angered families of hostages still trapped in Gaza, AP reports. The Hostage Forum, which supports families, said that the plan puts every hostage at risk and urged Israel’s decision-makers to secure a deal and prioritise the hostages. At a Knesset committee meeting, Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is being held hostage, called on soldiers “not to report for reserve duty for moral and ethical reasons.” The Israeli military said the army was calling up tens of thousands of reserve soldiers shortly before it emerged that Israeli ministers had approved a plan to potentially capture all of Gaza. Hamas said a new Israeli framework for aid delivery in Gaza amounted to “political blackmail” and blamed Israel for the war-ravaged territory’s “humanitarian catastrophe”, AFP reports. “We reject the use of aid as a tool of political blackmail and support the UN’s stance against any arrangements that violate humanitarian principles,” Hamas said in a statement, adding Israel’s “continued obstruction of aid entry” since 2 March made it “fully responsible” for the “humanitarian catastrophe” in Gaza. One of Israel’s goals is to prevent Hamas from handling aid in the Gaza Strip, AP reports. The Israeli officials who confirmed Israel’s plans to potentially capture all of Gaza, did not disclose details on how the plan seeks to prevent Hamas from involvement in aid distribution. One said the ministers had approved “the option of aid distribution,” without elaborating. According to an internal memo circulated among aid groups and seen by AP, Israel told the UN that it will use private security companies to control aid distribution in Gaza. The UN, in a statement yesterday, said it would not participate in the plan as presented, saying it violates its core principles. The memo, sent to aid organisations, detailed notes from a meeting between COGAT, the Israeli defence body in charge of coordinating aid to Gaza, and the UN. Under COGAT’s plan, all aid will enter Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing, letting approximately 60 trucks enter daily and distributing 20kg of aid parcels directly to people on the day of entry. The memo said the aid will be distributed at logistics hubs, which will be run by private security companies. The memo said that facial recognition will be used to identify Palestinians at the hubs and SMS alerts will notify people in the area that they can collect aid. Aid workers say the plan to centralise aid, rather than delivering it to Palestinians where they are, will forcibly displace people. Yemen’s Houthis have said the US of carried out strikes in and around Sana’a, after the Iran-backed rebels claimed a missile strike on Israel’s main airport yesterday, AFP reports. The Houthi-run Saba news agency said the strikes included two on Arbaeen Street in the capital and the airport road, blaming them on “American aggression”. Saba said 16 people were wounded, citing the Houthi’s health ministry. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed a tough response against the Houthis, as well as its main backer Iran, over the airport attack. On social media platform X, Netanyahu said Israel would also respond to Iran at “a time and place of our choosing”. Iran denied supporting the attack, calling it an “independent decision” by the Yemeni rebels taken in solidarity with the Palestinian people. As news of Israel’s plans to for a renewed assault on the Gaza Strip emerge, Gaza rescuers said Israeli air strikes killed at least 19 people in the north overnight, AFP reports. Israel resumed major operations across Gaza on 18 March amid deadlock over how to proceed with a two-month ceasefire that had largely halted the war with Hamas, which was sparked by the militants’ October 2023 attack on Israel. The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said yesterday that at least 2,436 people had been killed since Israel resumed its campaign in March, bringing the overall death toll from the war to 52,535. An Israeli campaign group said that a new government plan for expanded military operations in Gaza is “sacrificing” hostages held in the Palestinian territory, AFP reports. “The plan approved by the cabinet deserves to be called the ‘Smotrich-Netanyahu Plan’ for sacrificing the hostages,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a statement on the plan adopted by Israel’s security cabinet. The reference was to far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich and prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. A report by Israel’s public broadcaster Kan, citing officials with knowledge of the details, said new plan to intensify operations in the Gaza Strip would be gradual and would take months, with forces focusing first on one area, Reuters reports. Such a timeline could leave the door open for a ceasefire and hostage release deal talks ahead of a visit by US president Donald Trump to the region next week, according to security cabinet minister Zeev Elkin. “There is still a window of opportunity until president Trump concludes his visit to the Middle East, if Hamas understands we are serious,” Elkin told Kan. Israel’s security cabinet approved a plan to capture all of the Gaza Strip and remain there for an unspecified amount of time, two officials said, AP reports. The plan was approved today and is part of Israel’s efforts to increase pressure on Hamas to free hostages and negotiate a ceasefire on Israel’s terms. The two officials said the plan also includes the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to southern Gaza. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing military plans. Israeli ministers on Monday agreed to ramp up the war against Hamas in Gaza, an official said. Associated Press reported Israel has plans to capture more territory in the beleaguered Palestinian territory and call up tens of thousands of reserve soldiers. The plan, which the official said would be gradual, could mark a significant escalation in the fighting in Gaza, which resumed in mid-March after Israel and Hamas failed to agree on an extension to an eight-week truce. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations. On Sunday, Israel’s military chief of staff, Lt Gen Eyal Zamir, said the army was calling up tens of thousands of reserve soldiers and said Israel would “operate in additional areas” in Gaza and continue to strike militant infrastructure. Israel already controls roughly half of Gaza’s territory, including a buffer zone along the border with Israel as well as three corridors that run east-west along the strip. These have squeezed war-weary Palestinians into ever shrinking wedges of land in the devastated territory. We will bring you more developments as we have them.
Author: Vicky Graham (now) with Hayden Vernon (earlier)