Netanyahu summons ministers as divisions deepen over Israeli reoccupation of Gaza

Prime Minister to convene cabinet on Thursday in push for full military control of strip

Tents of internally displaced Palestinians in Al Mawasi, southern Gaza, seen from a German Air Force plane dropping humanitarian aid. EPA

Divisions in Israel are widening over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s reported desire to conquer all of Gaza.

The Prime Minister’s Office announced it would hold a Cabinet meeting on Thursday, what it hopes will be the last step before ordering such an operation. Fears are increasing that the plan could push the exhausted military to break point and endanger hostages still in captivity after 22 months of war.

The plan would involve pushing troops into the estimated 25 per cent of Gaza territory that the military has not yet occupied, Israeli media has reported. These include refugee camps that Israel until now deemed too dangerous to enter for fear of endangering the lives of hostages who might be held there.

There were no indications from Israel about what such a plan would mean for civilians in the Palestinian enclave, whose lives are already blighted by rising starvation after months of an Israeli blockade.

Five more people were reported dead from starvation by Gaza health officials on Wednesday, bringing the total to 193, including 96 children. UN Assistant Secretary General Miroslav Jenca said the plan “would risk catastrophic consequences”.

At least 20 people have been killed after an aid lorry overturned on a crowd of people in central Gaza – as condemnation of starvation caused by Israel's blockade grows.

A protest calling for the release of hostages, in Tel Aviv. Reuters

The plan has been condemned across Israeli society, mainly because of the risks it could pose to hostages. Most of the captives have been released through deals with the militant group Hamas, with military rescue operations proving far more risky. In August last year, six hostages were killed by their captors as Israeli troops closed in. In December 2023, Israeli soldiers killed three hostages, mistaking them for enemy combatants.

The father of hostage Eitan Horn told Israeli Army Radio he wants “the Prime Minister to explain why he wants to kill my son”. The families of captives are opposed to an expanded campaign in Gaza, he added.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid wrote on X on Wednesday that the “direction in which the Cabinet and the Israeli government are heading will lead to all the hostages dying of hunger, beatings and torture”.

Military officials also fear the plan would lead to major losses, public broadcaster Kan reported, with “dozens” of soldiers killed. Israel’s military chief, Lt Gen Eyal Zamir, is widely reported to be against the plan, chiefly because of exhaustion and low army morale.

Humanitarian aid ready to be airdropped over the Gaza Strip. EPA

Reoccupying Gaza in its entirety would need an estimated force of 25,000 to strike into main urban areas, military experts told The National on Wednesday. The city of Deir Al Balah in central Gaza would probably be the first target, requiring considerable aircraft and artillery, they said. The major deployment of ground forces, alongside heavy firepower, would inevitably result in high casualties on all sides, they warned.

Lt Gen Zamir recently withdrew large numbers of soldiers from the strip for a reprieve from combat. An expanded operation would therefore mean Israel would have to draw on reservists, who for months have been buckling under the strain of extended service, with potential major consequences for their careers and personal lives.

Defence Minister Israel Katz appeared to defend Lt Gen Zamir in a post on X on Wednesday, after Yair Netanyahu, the Prime Minister’s son, accused him of trying to organise a “rebellion and attempted military coup”.

Mr Katz said it was the army chief's “right and duty to express his position in the appropriate forums" but that "after decisions are made by the political echelon, the Israeli military will resolutely and professionally implement what is decided".

"Hamas's refusal to release the hostages requires that additional decisions be made regarding the way in which the war's goals should be advanced."

Thomas Harding contributed to this article