IDF to conquer Gaza Strip, move Gazans southward as Israel works to secure mass resettlement deal – Netanyahu

Senior Israeli official cites comments by Netanyahu that the plan adopted by the Security Cabinet early Monday morning will include the long-term conquest of territory in Gaza, adding that Israel is working to sign deal with third-party countries to accept Gaza refugees.

By David Rosenberg, World Israel News

Israel’s plan to expand the IDF ground operation in the Gaza Strip includes a large-scale conquest of the Gaza Strip, with Israeli forces capturing and holding territory long-term, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told members of the Security Cabinet during deliberations overnight.

According to an Israeli official, during a seven-hour hearing of the Security Cabinet spanning Sunday night and early Monday morning, Netanyahu endorsed the plan to broaden Israel’s military operations on the ground in Gaza, saying the move would help to secure the return of the remaining 59 Israeli hostages held captive in Gaza.

Furthermore, Netanyahu said, the widened operation would move the Hamas terror organization closer to defeat.

The official said that, according to Netanyahu, the plan approved by the Security Cabinet represented a significant shift from the army’s current approach to Gaza.

Currently, the IDF maintains a presence in buffer zones constituting roughly half of the coastal enclave’s territory. In addition, the Israeli military has conducted airstrikes and small-scale incursions in Hamas-held territory.

Now, however, the IDF will move toward a broad, long-term occupation of Gaza, Netanyahu is said to have told the cabinet.

“The prime minister emphasized that the plan differs from previous ones in that it shifts from raid-based operations to territorial conquest and holding ground,” the official said.

In addition, Netanyahu told ministers that his government is working to secure deals with third-party countries to take in large numbers of Gazans in order to implement President Donald Trump’s plan, announced on February 4, to resettle the entire population of the Gaza Strip abroad.

Netanyahu said that Israel is currently in talks with several countries in this regard.

IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir told ministers that Israel is now “on the path to defeating Hamas, and this will also assist in the return of the hostages.”

In addition to taking and holding territory in Gaza for the long term, the IDF is also planning to evacuate Gazans living in the northern and central Gaza Strip, relocating them southward, in order to separate the civilian population from Hamas’ military operations.

This step is also a precursor to renewing the transfer of humanitarian aid to Gaza, with the goal of making it more difficult for Hamas terrorists to seize incoming goods.

The security cabinet voted unanimously early Monday morning to back the plan, though no date was given for its implementation.

It is widely believed that Israel will hold back on expanding its operations in Gaza until after President Donald Trump’s arrival in Saudi Arabia next week.

Benjamin Netanyahugaza stripIDF