Overview

• Israel’s Security Cabinet approved a plan to seize Gaza City and central refugee camps to dismantle Hamas’s last strongholds and maintain overriding security control
• Prime Minister Netanyahu defended the offensive in a rare news conference with foreign media, saying a swift operation is essential to defeat Hamas and free the remaining hostages
• The blueprint calls for funneling Palestinians into designated safe zones offering food and medical care and installing a non-Israeli civilian administration to govern the enclave
• United Nations officials raised alarms that the assault would trigger “another calamity” as Gaza faces widespread starvation, rising child malnutrition and mass displacement
• President Trump reiterated steadfast US support at the United Nations even as diplomatic efforts continue on new ceasefire and hostage-exchange proposals