Overview

• The Security Cabinet endorsed Prime Minister Netanyahu’s proposal to take military control of Gaza City as the opening stage of a phased campaign to seize the entire enclave
• The five guiding principles include disarming Hamas, recovering all hostages, demilitarizing Gaza, maintaining Israeli security oversight and establishing an alternative civil administration
• Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir warned that a full occupation could endanger the roughly 20 hostages still alive and overstretch the Israel Defense Forces
• Families of captives have intensified protests, deploying ships off the Gaza coast and demonstrating outside government offices to urge caution over the fate of their loved ones
• United Nations officials cautioned that the expanded offensive risks catastrophic civilian displacement, deepening famine conditions and widespread international condemnation