Israel’s Plan To Seize Gaza Elicits Domestic and International Outrage 

Israel’s decision to launch a major operation to seize Gaza City drew sharp domestic and international condemnation over the weekend, with critics warning the move would deepen the territory’s humanitarian crisis, derail ceasefire efforts, imperil the hostages, and risk mass displacement, Euronews reported.  

The Israeli security cabinet approved the plan early Friday after hours of debate, in what observers called one of the most significant escalations in Israel’s nearly two-year war against Hamas.  

The decision came a day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would “take control of all Gaza,” while insisting there is no intention of permanently occupying the territory. 

He added that Israel plans to hand Gaza’s governance to a coalition of Arab forces after removing Hamas. 

The plan stipulates five principles for ending the war in the Palestinian exclave: Disarm Hamas, return all remaining hostages, demilitarize Gaza, take security control, and establish “an alternative civil administration that is neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority,” according to the BBC.  

Israeli media said the first phase of the operation would relocate an estimated one million Gaza City residents southward and target areas believed to hold hostages, followed by a second offensive alongside an increase in humanitarian aid. 

About 75 percent of Gaza is already under Israeli control. 

However, the United Nations estimates that around 87 percent of Gaza is under military orders or evacuation zones, with nearly the entire 2.1 million population displaced. UN officials have also warned that the besieged territory is on the brink of famine, with July marking the worst month for child malnutrition since the war began.  

The plan’s announcement triggered criticism inside Israel – including from security officials – and the nation’s European allies.  

Opposition leader Yair Lapid and senior military officials warned that the operation could endanger hostages and exhaust combat forces. On Saturday, tens of thousands of Israelis protested in Tel Aviv against the plan, demanding an end to the war and the return of the remaining 49 are still being held in Gaza – including 27 others the military says are dead, Agence France-Presse wrote. 

Regionally, the Palestinian Authority called the plan “a new crime” and demanded the right to govern Gaza.  

The foreign ministers of Egypt and Turkey also criticized it as an “inadmissible plan” and accused Israel of trying to “de-Palestinize” Gaza, Africanews added. 

The contentious plan also resulted in a rare pushback from Israel’s closest allies: On Friday, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced that Berlin would halt all arms exports that could be used in Gaza “until further notice,” breaking with a long-standing policy of unconditional security support, the Washington Post noted. 

Analysts said the move was a major policy shift for Germany, one of Israel’s staunchest allies in the European Union, whose relationship has been shaped by historical guilt over the Holocaust. 

Netanyahu expressed disappointment at Germany’s decision, claiming it was “rewarding Hamas terrorism.” 

Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer urged Israel to “reconsider immediately” and warned the plan would bring “more bloodshed” instead of securing the hostages’ release.  

Similar calls came from Spain, the Netherlands, Slovenia, and Finland, while European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stressed the need for “immediate and unhindered” aid access. 

The UN’s human rights chief, Volker Türk, slammed the plan, saying it ran “contrary” to the International Court of Justice’s ruling to end Israel’s occupation “as soon as possible.”  

In contrast, the Trump administration maintained the decision was “pretty much up to Israel” and blamed Hamas for stalling ceasefire negotiations. 

Hamas has demanded an end to the war and Israeli withdrawal, conditions Israel refuses. 

Netanyahu and other Israeli officials have rejected criticism and denied reports of Israel starving Gaza’s population as “malignant lies.” On Sunday, the prime minister insisted that the plan is “the best way to end the war and the best way to end it speedily,” NPR added.  

The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage. Israel’s response has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry, and displaced nearly the entire population.  

Human rights groups are now describing conditions in Gaza as a humanitarian catastrophe with famine-like conditions.