Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet is set to discuss a plan to seize Gaza City, Reuters says.

The Israeli military has gradually escalated its operations around Gaza City over the past three weeks, and on Friday it ended temporary pauses in the area that had allowed for aid deliveries, designating it a “dangerous combat zone”.

An Israeli official said Netanyahu’s security cabinet will convene in the evening to discuss the next stages of the planned offensive to seize Gaza City, which he has alleged was Hamas’s last bastion.

A full-scale offensive is not expected to start for weeks. Israel says it wants the civilian population to leave before moving more ground forces in, sparking concerns over forced displacement.