Israel plans to take over Gaza City to pressure Hamas. Worries rise for civilians and hostages

By WAFAA SHURAFA, SAM METZ and SAMY MAGDY

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel said Friday it will intensify its 22-month war with Hamas by taking over Gaza City, drawing a dismissal from the militant group and renewed international calls to end the conflict, while stirring fears for Palestinian civilians and Israeli hostages still held in Gaza.

Israel’s air and ground war has already killed tens of thousands of people in Gaza, displaced most of the population, destroyed vast areas and pushed the territory toward famine. The timing of another major ground operation remains unclear since it will likely hinge on mobilizing thousands of troops and forcibly evacuating civilians, almost certainly exacerbating the humanitarian catastrophe.

Mediators from Egypt and Qatar are working on a new framework that will include the release of all hostages — dead and alive — in one go in return for an end of the war in Gaza and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the strip, two Arab officials told The Associated Press.

Before Israel’s Security Cabinet approved the plan to take over Gaza City, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had outlined more sweeping plans Thursday in an interview with Fox News, saying Israel planned to take control of all of Gaza. Israel already controls around three-quarters of the territory.

Hamas rejected Israel’s plans in a statement. “Expanding of aggression against our Palestinian people will not be a walk in the park,” the group said.

Netanyahu had signaled plans for even broader war

An expanded offensive could widen discord between Israel and international powers, which have stepped up criticism of the war amid mounting shock over media reports showing starvation.

Britain urged Israel to reconsider, and Germany said it would not authorize the export of military equipment that could be used in Gaza until further notice.

“The even harsher military action by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip, approved by the Israeli Cabinet last night, makes it increasingly difficult for the German government to see how these goals will be achieved,” Chancellor Friedrich Merz said.

Tensions could rise further if Netanyahu follows through on the more sweeping plans to take control of the entire territory, two decades after Israel’s unilateral withdrawal from the strip.

Asked in the interview with Fox News ahead of the Security Cabinet meeting if Israel would “take control of all of Gaza,” Netanyahu replied: “We intend to, in order to assure our security, remove Hamas there.” He added that Israel did not intend to “keep it.”

Israel’s new plan stopped short of that, and may be aimed in part at pressuring Hamas to accept a ceasefire on Israel’s terms.

It may also reflect the reservations of Israel’s military chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, who reportedly warned that expanding operations would endanger the remaining 20 or so living hostages held by Hamas and further strain Israel’s army after nearly two years of regional wars.

The military “will prepare to take control of Gaza City while providing humanitarian aid to the civilian population outside the combat zones,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement after the meeting.

Amir Avivi, a retired brigadier general and chairman of Israel’s Defense and Security Forum, estimated it would take less than three months to mobilize some 30,000 troops, evacuate Palestinian civilians and take over Gaza City.

Hamas-led militants triggered the war when they stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and abducting 251 people. Most of the hostages have been released in ceasefires or other deals but 50 remain inside Gaza. Israel believes around 20 of them to be alive.

Mediators try again to end the war

The efforts for a new ceasefire have the backing of major Arab Gulf monarchies, according to officials who spoke anonymously due to the sensitivity of the discussions. One is involved directly in the deliberations and the second was briefed on the efforts. The monarchies are concerned about further regional destabilization if Israel’s government proceeds with a full reoccupation of Gaza, the officials said.

The yet-to-be finalized framework aims to address the contentious issue of what to do with Hamas’ weapons, with Israel seeking full disarmament and Hamas refusing. The official directly involved in the efforts said discussions are underway about “freezing arms,” which may involve Hamas retaining but not using its weapons. It also calls for the group to relinquish power in the strip.

A Palestinian-Arab committee would run Gaza and oversee the reconstruction efforts until the establishment of a Palestinian administration with a new police force, trained by two U.S. allies in the Middle East, to take over the strip, he said. It is unclear what role the Western-backed Palestinian Authority would play.

The second official said the U.S. administration has been briefed on the broad lines of the framework.

A senior Hamas official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to brief the media, said the group’s leadership has been aware of the Arab mediators’ efforts to revive the ceasefire talks, but has yet to receive details.

AP reached out to the governments in Qatar, Egypt and Israel as well as the White House for comment.

U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff told hostage families during his recent visit that Israel was shifting its approach to pursue a comprehensive “all-or-nothing” deal aimed at ending the war and securing the release of hostages, a person who attended the meeting told the AP, speaking on the condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak about the private meeting.

‘There is nothing left to occupy’

Israel has repeatedly bombarded Gaza City and carried out numerous raids there, only to return to neighborhoods again and again as militants regrouped. Today, it is one of the few areas in Gaza that hasn’t been turned into an Israeli buffer zone or placed under evacuation orders.

A major ground operation there could displace tens of thousands of people and further disrupt efforts to deliver food to the hunger-stricken territory.

It’s unclear how many people reside in the city, which was Gaza’s largest before the war. Hundreds of thousands fled under evacuation orders in the opening weeks of the conflict, but many returned during a ceasefire at the start of this year.

Palestinians were already anticipating even more suffering ahead of the decision, and at least 42 were killed in Israeli airstrikes and shootings on Thursday, according to local hospitals.

“There is nothing left to occupy,” said Maysaa al-Heila, who is living in a displacement camp. “There is no Gaza left.”

Of those killed Thursday, Nasser Hospital said at least 13 were seeking aid in an Israeli military zone in southern Gaza where U.N. aid convoys are regularly overwhelmed by hungry crowds and people stealing food to resell it. Another two were killed on roads leading to nearby sites run by the Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an American contractor, according to the hospital, which received the bodies.

GHF said there were no violent incidents at or near its sites on Thursday. Israel’s military said its forces did not fire in the morning and that it knew of no encounters in the area. The military zone, known as the Morag Corridor, is off limits to independent media.

Israel’s military offensive has killed over 61,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many were fighters or civilians. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals.

The United Nations and independent experts view the ministry’s figures as the most reliable estimate of casualties. Israel has disputed them without offering a toll of its own.

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Shurafa reported from Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, and Magdy from Cairo. Associated Press writers Danica Kirka in London, Michelle Price in Washington, Joseph Krauss in Ottawa, Ontario, Sam Mednick in Tel Aviv, Israel and Fanny Brodersen in Berlin contributed.

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