Netanyahu Greenlights Gaza City Takeover, Pledges to Crush Hamas [WATCH]

Israel’s Security Cabinet has approved a plan for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to take control of Gaza City, escalating military operations in its ongoing war against Hamas.

The decision, made early Friday, follows extended deliberations and an overnight meeting of the cabinet, where officials outlined key principles aimed at concluding the conflict.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the approval on Friday, confirming that the IDF has been instructed to prepare for control over Gaza City while continuing to distribute humanitarian aid to civilians outside of combat zones.

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“The Security Cabinet has approved the Prime Minister’s proposal for defeating Hamas. The IDF will prepare for taking control of Gaza City while distributing humanitarian assistance to the civilian population outside the combat zones,” read an official post from the Prime Minister’s office on X.

The Security Cabinet has approved the Prime Minister’s proposal for defeating Hamas.

The IDF will prepare for taking control of Gaza City while distributing humanitarian assistance to the civilian population outside the combat zones.

— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) August 8, 2025

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The Security Cabinet adopted five principles, by vote, to guide the next phase of the war.

These include: disarming Hamas, ensuring the return of all hostages — both living and deceased — the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip, the continuation of Israeli security control in the region, and the establishment of a new civil administration not affiliated with either Hamas or the Palestinian Authority.

“A decisive majority of Security Cabinet ministers believed that the alternative plan that had been submitted to the Security Cabinet would neither achieve the defeat of Hamas nor the return of the hostages,” the prime minister’s office stated.

This move represents a significant escalation in the military campaign that began after the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas-led militants.

That assault resulted in the deaths of approximately 1,200 people in Israel and the abduction of 251 individuals, triggering an extensive Israeli military response.

Since then, the IDF has conducted widespread airstrikes and ground operations throughout Gaza.

Many areas of the Gaza Strip have been evacuated or designated as buffer zones under Israeli control.

However, Gaza City has remained largely outside of those zones, despite repeated Israeli bombardments and raids.

Hundreds of thousands of residents initially fled Gaza City following the outbreak of hostilities.

Some returned during a temporary ceasefire earlier in 2025. Now, with plans for full occupation in place, residents may face new evacuation orders or intensified military presence.

In an interview with Fox News prior to the Security Cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Netanyahu confirmed Israel’s intention to take full control of Gaza.

“We intend to, in order to assure our security, remove Hamas there, enable the population to be free of Gaza,” Netanyahu said.

“We don’t want to keep it. We want to have a security perimeter,” Netanyahu added.

“We want to hand it over to Arab forces that will govern it properly without threatening us and giving Gazans a good life.”

The move toward military occupation comes nearly 20 years after Israel’s full withdrawal from Gaza as part of a unilateral disengagement plan.

At that time, the Israeli government evacuated roughly 8,600 Jewish residents from the area.

Following the withdrawal, Hamas won control in Palestinian elections and then staged a coup to oust the Palestinian Authority from Gaza, consolidating its power in the coastal enclave.

According to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, more than 60,000 Palestinians have been killed since the beginning of Israel’s retaliatory campaign.

The ministry does not differentiate between combatants and civilians in its reporting.

The fate of hostages taken during the October 7 attack remains a central issue in the conflict.

Most hostages have been released as part of negotiated ceasefire agreements, but around 50 remain in Gaza.

The Israeli government believes approximately 20 of them are still alive.

With the approval of this new plan, Israeli forces are now set to enter Gaza City in what is expected to be a major military operation, aimed at both weakening Hamas and shaping the future governance of the territory.