![Palestinians, living in Jabalia refugee camp, try to maintain their daily life in makeshift tents amid the rubble of buildings destroyed by Israeli attacks, in Gaza City, Gaza on April 26, 2025. [Mahmoud İssa - Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/AA-20250427-37764296-37764291-DAILY_LIFE_IN_GAZA_UNDER_ISRAELI_ATTACKS-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
Israel’s Security Cabinet unanimously approved a plan early Monday to expand its ongoing military onslaught on the Gaza Strip and occupy territories inside the enclave, Anadolu reports.
In a statement, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the Cabinet approved “the operational plan” submitted by army chief Eyal Zamir to “defeat Hamas” and return Israeli captives held in Gaza.
According to the statement, the plan requires the army “to conquer Gaza and hold the territory under its control.”
Israeli Channel 12 said the plan also includes the forcible relocation of Palestinians from northern Gaza to the south.
Israeli Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi said the Israeli plan will help accelerate the relocation of Palestinians out of Gaza under US President Donald Trump’s plan.
Karhi claimed that the migration of Palestinians from Gaza is “the solution” for the enclave, according to the public broadcaster KAN.
There is “political activity” for Israel in looking for countries that may accept Palestinians from Gaza, he added.
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On Feb. 4, Trump said that the US would “take over” and “own” Gaza, describing it as a “completely destroyed” area. The idea has been rejected by the Arab world and many other nations, who say it amounts to ethnic cleansing.
There was no immediate Palestinian comment on the Israeli plan.
Israeli estimates suggest 59 captives remain in Gaza, with 24 believed alive. In contrast, more than 9,500 Palestinians remain imprisoned in Israel under harsh conditions, including reports of torture, starvation, and medical neglect, according to Palestinian and Israeli rights organizations.
More than 52,500 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in a brutal Israeli onslaught since October 2023, most of them women and children.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
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