Overview

• In a Fox News interview, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel intends to take military control of all Gaza territory but will not govern the enclave, aiming instead to hand over security to Arab partners
• A security cabinet meeting is scheduled to debate a plan to extend operations into every zone where hostages may be held and to dismantle Hamas’s command structures
• IDF Chief Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir publicly cautioned against the “trap” of a full Gaza occupation, warning it could jeopardize surviving hostages and overstretch military resources
• Early on Thursday, relatives of 251 Israeli hostages held by Hamas staged a symbolic boat protest off Ashkelon, urging international intervention to secure their loved ones’ release
• UN officials have warned that expanding the offensive could have catastrophic humanitarian consequences for a Gaza Strip already under blockade and facing widespread famine risk