Israeli leadership votes to expand Gaza ground offensive

On Monday, an Israeli official stated that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet decided to intensify the offensive against the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza, aiming to capture the whole enclave and maintain control over its areas.

A report from Israel’s public broadcaster Kan, referencing officials familiar with the specifics, indicated that the new strategy was incremental and would unfold over several months, starting with forces concentrating on a particular region of the damaged enclave.

According to security cabinet minister Zeev Elkin, this timeline might allow for discussions on a ceasefire and the release of hostages before U.S. President Donald Trump visits the region next week. Having already controlled about one-third of Gaza’s area, Israel recommenced ground operations in March following the breakdown of a U.S.-supported ceasefire that had paused combat for two months. Since then, it has established a complete blockade on aid entering the enclave.

Elkin stated that instead of conducting raids in particular regions and subsequently withdrawing like the military has previously done, the Israeli forces will now maintain control over the territories they capture until Hamas is either defeated or consents to disarm and exit Gaza.

Hamas has dismissed those appeals. Israel has not provided a definitive plan for post-war Gaza while under global pressure to terminate a campaign that has uprooted a majority of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents, leaving them reliant on rapidly decreasing aid supplies since the blockade began.

An Israeli official stated that the recently authorized military strategy would push Gaza’s civilian residents south and prevent humanitarian aid from reaching Hamas, although the blockade will remain in place for now. On Sunday, the United Nations dismissed what it called a new proposal for aid distribution in areas it referred to as Israeli hubs.  On Monday, Jan Egeland, Secretary-General of the Norwegian Refugee Council, said on X that Israel was demanding that the U.N. and non-governmental organisations shut down their aid distribution system in Gaza.