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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared today that Israel was “on the eve of a forceful entry to Gaza.” Israel’s security cabinet voted last night to approve a new plan for tens of thousands of additional soldiers to seize and hold territory in Gaza and relocate Palestinians to the south.
Netanyahu said Israel’s military leaders told him that “it’s time to launch the concluding moves.”
The escalation followed more than two months in which Israel continued to blockade and bombard the enclave as cease-fire talks to free the remaining hostages ground to a near standstill. Israel has barred any humanitarian aid to Gaza in an effort to press Hamas to surrender, leading to “catastrophic” shortages of food, water and medicine, the U.N. said.
An Israeli spokesman said the offensive would aim to increase pressure on Hamas to release the hostages and to destroy all of the group’s infrastructure. Officials said it would start slowly ahead of President Trump’s trip next week to the region. Cease-fire negotiations are ongoing, but the officials said that if a deal is not reached soon, the expanded ground operation would commence in earnest.
In related news, Israeli fighter jets bombed Yemen today after Houthi militants fired a missile that landed near Israel’s main airport.
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