Overview

• Israel’s Security Cabinet approved a plan on August 8 for the IDF to seize Gaza City and dismantle Hamas’s last strongholds.
• Netanyahu said the expanded offensive is the only way to “finish the job” of defeating Hamas, freeing hostages and liberating the enclave.
• He outlined objectives to demilitarize Gaza, maintain Israeli military security control and install a non-Israeli civilian administration.
• UN agencies warn Gaza is enduring 'starvation, pure and simple' and say the planned offensive will spark wider forced displacement and devastation.
• Multiple Security Council members denounced the operation as a breach of international law in an emergency session; the United States defended Israel’s security prerogatives.