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Israel intends to control three quarters of Gaza's territory within two months, according to a plan shared with Israeli media which suggest Palestinians could be relocated to three small zones in the strip.
About 40 per cent of Gaza is occupied, according to Israeli estimates, but the military expects that to rise to 75 per cent within two months, under the plan reported by outlets including the Times of Israel and the Jerusalem Post.
Those reports say civilians would be divided between three areas in northern, central and southern Gaza. One would be in Gaza City, a second in Deir Al Balah and the third in Al Mawasi in the south, where many evicted Gazans have already been forced to relocate to a "safe zone" that has come under repeated attacks.
The plan is described as aiming to push Hamas into a state of collapse and force it to negotiate on Israeli terms.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last week that 20 hostages held by the militant group were "certainly alive".
Mr Netanyahu says Israel has eliminated dozens of Hamas leaders, including Yahya Sinwar and his brother Mohammed Sinwar. The leaked plan would be Israel's latest shift towards seeking control of large areas of Gaza, in addition to fighting Hamas militants.
Israel's military said in a statement that chief of staff Lt Gen Eyal Zamir told troops on a visit to Khan Younis, in Gaza, on Sunday that "this is not an endless war" and that Hamas has lost most of its assets, including its command and control.
"We will deploy every tool at our disposal to bring the hostages home, dismantle Hamas and dismantle its rule," Lt Gen Zamir was quoted as saying.
Israel resumed its offensive in Gaza in mid-March after a two-month ceasefire and set about seizing large areas of territory.
Mr Netanyahu previously expressed a desire to relocate Gazans to other countries. Israel also hopes to take control of aid distribution in the strip, where it blocked humanitarian deliveries for 11 weeks before allowing modest supplies to resume last week.
Cindy McCain, the executive director of the UN World Food Programme, on Sunday denied Israel’s claims that Hamas is looting food lorries.
"These people are desperate," she told CBS News. "They see a World Food Programme truck coming in and they run for it. This doesn’t have anything to do with Hamas or any kind of organised crime or anything. This has simply to do with the fact these people are starving to death.”
