Netanyahu to Convene Security Cabinet as Israel Weighs Full Military Occupation of Gaza
by Worthy News Jerusalem Bureau Staff
(Worthy News) – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will convene his security cabinet Thursday evening to finalize decisions on the next phase of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, with expectations mounting that the government will approve a full-scale occupation of the Strip–despite urgent warnings from top defense officials.
The 6 p.m. meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office comes after an intense three-hour strategic session earlier this week in which IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir laid out operational options, including a more measured encirclement of Gaza City. But Netanyahu reportedly rejected the proposal, instructing Zamir to prepare plans for a total military takeover.
“This is the only way we will be able to free the hostages,” Netanyahu told security officials, doubling down on a strategy that many believe risks both Israeli lives and the fate of captives still held in Gaza.
According to the Kan public broadcaster, military officials estimate that a full occupation could result in the deaths of dozens of Israeli soldiers and injuries to many more. The IDF’s current toll in Gaza, including operations along the border, stands at 459 personnel killed–among them two police officers and three Defense Ministry contractors.
Zamir is expected to reiterate his reservations to the full cabinet Thursday, warning that the remaining areas of Gaza, including central refugee camps and the Al-Mawasi coastal zone, are heavily fortified. Hamas, officials say, has spent 22 months preparing for a final confrontation in these zones and would inflict significant losses on Israeli forces emerging from tunnels in complex urban terrain.
The IDF has also refrained from entering certain areas where hostages are believed to be held, citing high risks of either Hamas executing captives or inadvertent friendly fire deaths during combat operations. Currently, around 20 hostages are believed to remain alive in Gaza.
Despite these risks, Netanyahu is reportedly aligned with hardline members of his cabinet, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who believe the time for half-measures is over. They argue that increasing international pressure to provide humanitarian aid, combined with failed hostage negotiations, has empowered Hamas diplomatically and eroded Israeli leverage.
“The IDF is prepared to carry out any decision made by the cabinet,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement Wednesday, while Defense Minister Israel Katz emphasized the military’s professionalism and his personal responsibility to ensure successful execution of government decisions.
Katz, visiting IDF troops in Gaza earlier this week, reaffirmed the war’s dual objectives: defeating Hamas and returning the hostages. “Once the political echelon makes the necessary decisions, the military will execute them professionally,” he said.
Zamir, however, views the proposed occupation as a strategic trap. His alternative plan involves surrounding Hamas strongholds, controlling key routes and high ground, and maintaining pressure without launching a full-scale invasion. According to military sources, this would avoid a massive mobilization of reservists and prevent exhaustion of combat forces while still squeezing Hamas militarily.
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid echoed these concerns in a security briefing with Netanyahu Wednesday, calling the occupation a “very bad idea” that would carry a cost too heavy to bear–both financially and in lives. “The people of Israel are not behind this war,” Lapid reportedly told the prime minister. Instead, he urged Israel to work toward a regional arrangement in which Arab countries take responsibility for Gaza’s governance.
Meanwhile, the IDF continues tactical operations inside Gaza. On Tuesday, Israeli airstrikes hit a Hamas weapons manufacturing site in Gaza City’s Sheikh Radwan neighborhood. The IDF said it issued evacuation warnings and used precision munitions to minimize civilian casualties. The 401st Armored Brigade also directed a drone strike that killed 10 Hamas operatives in the Daraj and Tuffah neighborhoods.
Elsewhere, the 215th Artillery Regiment shelled a mortar launch site in northern Gaza, and other units destroyed Hamas infrastructure across the enclave. The Hamas-run health ministry claims 138 Palestinians were killed in the past 24 hours alone, though the figures do not distinguish between militants and civilians.
In response to mounting humanitarian concerns, the IDF facilitated an airdrop of 107 aid pallets on Wednesday, coordinated with the UAE, Jordan, Germany, Belgium, and France. Each pallet carried around one ton of food. Since July 26, nearly 900 packages have been delivered by nine countries, including Israel.
However, chaos continues to hamper aid distribution. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a U.S.- and Israeli-backed initiative to bypass Hamas control, has been plagued by daily violence. Hundreds have reportedly been killed in desperate attempts to access aid from distribution centers.
While Israel denies allegations of systematic starvation in Gaza, it has acknowledged the need for expanded humanitarian access. In late July, the government began implementing daily 10-hour pauses in military activity across several population centers. Earlier this week, for the first time in nearly a year, Israel announced it would allow the private sector to deliver goods into Gaza.
The war began on October 7, 2023, when over 5,600 Hamas terrorists stormed into Israel, killing 1,200 civilians and taking 251 hostages. Since then, the IDF claims to have killed 20,000 Hamas combatants, in addition to 1,600 terrorists during the October 7 massacre itself. The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza alleges more than 60,000 Palestinians have been killed or are missing, though these numbers remain unverified.
Hamas has dismissed Israel’s threats of a full occupation as “worthless,” stating they have no influence on the group’s decisions. Hostage talks remain stalled, with senior Hamas leaders reportedly relocating from Qatar to Turkey, cutting off contact with Qatari mediators.
As the cabinet prepares to make one of the most consequential decisions of the war, the Israeli public awaits the outcome–and the consequences–of a possible return to full-scale occupation of Gaza. Whether Netanyahu pushes forward or heeds the military’s warnings, the path ahead appears fraught with danger, uncertainty, and unprecedented cost.
Latest Worthy News
If you are interested in articles produced by Worthy News, please check out our FREE sydication service available to churches or online Christian ministries. To find out more, visit Worthy Plugins.