• Move envisions large-scale evacuation of Palestinians
• EU says plan ‘will result in further casualties, suffering’
• Israeli strikes kill 19 in war-ravaged territory’s north

JERUSALEM: Israel’s security cabinet approved the expansion of military operations in Gaza including the “conquest” of the Palestinian territory, an official said on Monday, after the army called up tens of thousands of reservists for the offensive.

It comes as the United Nations and aid organisations have repeatedly warned of the humanitarian catastrophe on the ground, with famine again looming after more than two months of a total Israeli blockade.

The Israeli official said the expanded operations “will include, among other things, the conquest of the Gaza Strip and the holding of the territories, moving the Gaza population south for their protection”.

A different senior security official said “a central component of the plan is a large-scale evacuation of the entire Gazan population from the fighting zones… to areas in southern Gaza”.

The plan, approved by the cabinet overnight, comes amid a push by Israel for Palestinians to leave the territory.

A “voluntary transfer programme for Gaza residents… will be part of the operation’s goals,” the senior security official added.

‘Political blackmail’

The European Union voiced concern and urged restraint from Israel, saying the plan “will result in further casualties and suffering for the Palestinian people”.

Hamas said on Monday the new Israeli aid framework amounted to “political blackmail”.

Gaza’s civil defence agency said two Israeli air strikes killed at least 19 people in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory’s north early Monday.

“Our teams found 15 martyrs and 10 wounded, mostly children and women, after an Israeli strike on three apartments” northwest of Gaza City, said the agency’s spokesman, Mahmud Bassal.

Four other people were killed and four wounded in a strike on a house in Beit Lahiya, north of Gaza City, he told AFP.

The Israeli cabinet, which includes Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and several ministers, “unanimously approved” the plan aimed at defeating Hamas and securing the return of prisoners held in the territory.

The official source said the plan included “powerful strikes against Hamas”, without specifying their nature.

“I think, as an Israeli citizen, that it’s a smart move to finally address the root problem properly”, public employee Yossi Gershon, 36, told AFP.

“All the steps of backing down — we can see that unfortunately, there really isn’t peace with the other people.”

The senior security source said the troop deployment would “allow a window of opportunity” for a possible prisoner deal coinciding with US President Donald Trump’s upcoming visit to the Middle East in mid-May.

“It is a thoughtless way of endangering more lives on both sides”, student Tamar Lazarow, 59, told AFP. “Enough innocent people have died… I do not really trust our government to make decisions coming from the right place.”

An Israeli campaign group representing the relatives of prisoners said the plan for an expanded offensive was “sacrificing” those held in Gaza.

Alongside the plan for the expansion of the war, Netanyahu “continues to promote” a proposal by Trump for the departure of Gazans to neighbouring countries, the official said.

The US president’s plan, unveiled in early February, has been rejected by Arab nations and governments around the world and the Palestinians.

Israel’s security cabinet also approved the “possibility of humanitarian distribution, if necessary” in Gaza, “to prevent Hamas from taking control of the supplies and to destroy its governance capabilities”.

A grouping of UN agencies and aid groups in the Palestinian territory has said Israel is seeking to “shut down the existing aid distribution system…

and have us agree to deliver supplies through Israeli hubs under conditions set by the Israeli military“.

The plan “contravenes fundamental humanitarian principles and appears designed to reinforce control over life-sustaining items as a pressure tactic — as part of a military strategy”, the bodies said in a statement.

Published in Dawn, May 6th, 2025