Overview

• The Security Cabinet endorsed five end-of-war objectives: disarm Hamas, secure hostages’ release, demilitarize Gaza, maintain Israeli security control and install an alternative civil administration
• The IDF has entered a preparatory phase to take control of Gaza City while coordinating aid delivery outside combat zones
• Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir cautioned that expanding the operation could jeopardize troops and the roughly 50 hostages still held in Gaza
• Families of captives and opposition figures argue the takeover abandons hostage safety, and Hamas denounced the plan as a “new war crime”
• Germany halted military exports to Israel in protest and international partners have voiced alarm over the humanitarian impact of a wider offensive