Israeli government approves plan to occupy Gaza City

Israel's Security and Political Affairs Cabinet also approved five immediate actions to end the war. The statement said the operation includes the provision of humanitarian aid. In a new escalation of the 22-month-old conflict in Gaza, Israel's Security and Political Affairs Cabinet approved on Friday (August 8) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plan to occupy Gaza City in the Palestinian territory of the Gaza Strip.

Following the decision, the cabinet released a statement saying that most ministers do not believe that the alternative plan presented earlier would achieve the total defeat of Hamas or the return of all hostages.

The note also says that the Israeli army's operations must include the provision of humanitarian aid.

The statement also cites five immediate actions to end the war: the return of all Israeli hostages, dead or alive; the disarmament of Hamas; the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip; Israeli-controlled security in the Gaza Strip; and the installation of an alternative civilian government other than Hamas or the Palestinian Authority.

Despite growing criticism at home and abroad over the nearly two-year-old war in the Palestinian territory, Netanyahu said Thursday he supports Israel taking military control of the entire Gaza Strip.

"It is our intention," he said in an interview with the American network Fox News when asked if Israel would take control of the entire territory. He also stated that the plan, after taking the region, would be for Israel to hand over the territory to Arab forces who would govern it.

gb (AP, ots)