By Quds News Network
Gaza (Quds News Network)- Israel’s security cabinet approved a plan on Thursday by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the military occupation of Gaza City. The plan involves displacing tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians, including many who had already been forced to flee northern Gaza, to camps in central Gaza.
Netanyahu had earlier said Israel intended to take over all of the Gaza Strip, but the plan only mentions Gaza City.
“The IDF will prepare to take control of Gaza City while providing humanitarian aid to the civilian population outside the combat zones,” Israel’s military claimed.
Reports in Israeli media say the plan initially focuses on taking full control of Gaza City, displacing its one million residents further south. Forces would also take control of refugee camps in central Gaza.
The Israeli security cabinet’s approval of an expansion of the war would includes more than one phase, according to CNN, citing an Israeli source.
The deadline for the first phase is October 7, according to the source. October 7, 2025, is the second anniversary of Israel’s war in Gaza.
A second source said that the plan calls for no aid distribution within Gaza City as a means of forcing Palestinians to flee.
The UN has warned that a complete military takeover would risk “catastrophic consequences” for Palestinian civilians and Israeli captives held in Gaza. The UK’s ambassador to Israel has said it would be “a huge mistake”.
The Israeli military currently takes control of about three-quarters of Gaza, and almost all of its 2.1 million citizens are now in the quarter of the territory that the military does not control.
The UN estimates some 87% of Gaza is either in militarised zones or under evacuation orders.
There are areas in central Gaza and along the Mediterranean coast that Israel does not occupy, according to the UN.
These include refugee camps, where much of Gaza’s population is now living after their homes were destroyed by Israel. The vast majority of Gaza’s population has already been displaced by the war, many people several times over.
Top UN official Miroslav Jenča told the UN Security Council earlier this week that a plan to occupy Gaza would be against international law and was a “deeply alarming” prospect.
US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that taking over Gaza was “really up to Israel”.
“Where Should We Go? We’re Already Starving and Displaced”
Displaced Palestinians in Gaza have voiced outrage and fear in response to the announced plan.
Mohamed Shabaan, who was already displaced from his home in the Tuffah neighborhood, which was completely destroyed in Israeli airstrikes, called the plan a “disaster.”
“We’re already living in a disaster. We are starving and displaced. Where should we go next?” he told Quds News Network.
Shabaan added that people simply cannot endure being forcibly displaced over and over again.
“People have no money. They’re starving, their children are starving. Bombing is everywhere. We are tired and exhausted.”
Aya Naim, a displaced widow and mother of a two-year-old boy, said she has nowhere to go if the plan is implemented.”
“I have no money to buy a tent or flee with the little I have. My child is starving, and the situation is already deteriorating.”
She added, “We were displaced to the south last year. This is insane. I have no family except my child. I’m afraid for him. There is no safe place. No food. No water. No life.”
“Haven’t they had enough of killing and destroying?” she continued.
“There is nothing left to occupy. There is no Gaza left. Israel has already destroyed all of Gaza and squeezed all of it into the western part of Gaza City, and that’s all that’s left,” Houssam al-Kahlout said.
Global Outrage Erupts as Israel Announces Plan to Occupy Gaza City
On Thursday, Israel’s security cabinet approved a plan by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the military occupation of Gaza City, sparking widespread outrage and condemnation. The plan involves displacing tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians, including many who had already been forced to flee northern Gaza, to camps in central Gaza.
Netanyahu had earlier said Israel intended to take over all of the Gaza Strip, but the plan only mentions Gaza City.
“The IDF will prepare to take control of Gaza City while providing humanitarian aid to the civilian population outside the combat zones,” Israel’s military claimed.
Reports in Israeli media say the plan initially focuses on taking full control of Gaza City, displacing its one million residents further south. Forces would also take control of refugee camps in central Gaza.
The Israeli security cabinet’s approval of an expansion of the war would include more than one phase, according to CNN, citing an Israeli source.
The deadline for the first phase is October 7, according to the source. October 7, 2025, is the second anniversary of Israel’s war in Gaza.
A second source said that the plan calls for no aid distribution within Gaza City as a means of forcing Palestinians to flee.
The Israeli military currently takes control of about three-quarters of Gaza, and almost all of its 2.1 million citizens are now in the quarter of the territory that the military does not control.
The UN estimates some 87% of Gaza is either in militarised zones or under evacuation orders.
There are areas in central Gaza and along the Mediterranean coast that Israel does not occupy, according to the UN.
These include refugee camps, where much of Gaza’s population is now living after their homes were destroyed by Israel. The vast majority of Gaza’s population has already been displaced by the war, many people several times over.
Here’s some reactions to the announced Gaza occupation plan:
Palestine
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said Friday that Israel’s decision to occupy the Gaza Strip reveals the true nature of its war, “an unjustified campaign against Palestinian civilians.”
In a statement, the ministry condemned the Israeli Security Cabinet’s newly approved plan as a “dangerous and illegal escalation.”
“This decision reveals that the Israeli war was never defensive; it has always been a war of extermination and forced displacement against the people of Gaza,” the ministry said, warning of the “certain death” of civilians remaining in the strip.
“This development cannot be ignored,” the ministry said.
Hamas slammed the plan, saying “Netanyahu’s remarks represent a blatant reversal of the negotiation process and clearly expose the real reasons behind his withdrawal from the latest round of talks, despite us being close to reaching a final agreement.”
The Netanyahu plan “leaves no doubt that he aims to sacrifice the captives to serve his personal interests and extremist ideological agenda.”
Palestinians in Gaza
Displaced Palestinians in Gaza have voiced outrage and fear in response to the announced plan.
Mohamed Shabaan, who was already displaced from his home in the Tuffah neighborhood, which was completely destroyed in Israeli airstrikes, called the plan a “disaster.”
“We’re already living in a disaster. We are starving and displaced. Where should we go next?” he told Quds News Network.
Shabaan added that people simply cannot endure being forcibly displaced over and over again.
“People have no money. They’re starving, their children are starving. Bombing is everywhere. We are tired and exhausted.”
Aya Naim, a displaced widow and mother of a two-year-old boy, said she has nowhere to go if the plan is implemented.”
“I have no money to buy a tent or flee with the little I have. My child is starving, and the situation is already deteriorating.”
She added, “We were displaced to the south last year. This is insane. I have no family except my child. I’m afraid for him. There is no safe place. No food. No water. No life.”
“Haven’t they had enough of killing and destroying?” she continued.
“There is nothing left to occupy. There is no Gaza left. Israel has already destroyed all of Gaza and squeezed all of it into the western part of Gaza City, and that’s all that’s left,” Houssam al-Kahlout said.
Turkey
Turkey has condemned “in strongest terms Israel’s decision to expand military operation in Gaza, which constitutes a new phase of expansionist and genocidal policy.”
“Every step taken by the fundamentalist Netanyahu government to continue the genocide against the Palestinians and to expand the occupation deals a heavy blow to international peace and security, increases regional instability, and deepens the humanitarian crisis,” said the Turkish Foreign Ministry in a statement.
UK
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has urged Netanyahu to reconsider his plans to take over Gaza City and said the move would only bring more bloodshed.
“Every day the humanitarian crisis in Gaza worsens and hostages taken by Hamas are being held in appalling and inhuman conditions. What we need is a ceasefire, a surge in humanitarian aid, the release of all hostages by Hamas and a negotiated solution,” Starmer said.
The leader of the Liberal Democrats, Ed Davey, said it was increasingly clear that Netanyahu’s goal was “ethnic cleansing” in Gaza. He urged Starmer to cease all arms exports to Israel and sanction Netanyahu and his cabinet.
The energy minister Miatta Fahnbulleh told Sky News the Israeli decision to take over Gaza City was wrong. “We think that it will risk escalating an already intolerable situation, and the consequence will be more bloodshed,” she said. “There’s no one that can see what is happening and unfolding in Gaza that isn’t horrified by it.
China
China expressed “serious concerns” on Friday over Israel’s plan to take control of Gaza City, urging it to “immediately cease its dangerous actions”.
“Gaza belongs to the Palestinian people and is an inseparable part of Palestinian territory,” a Foreign Ministry spokesperson told Agence France-Presse (AFP) in a message.
UN
Israel’s “plan for a complete military takeover of the occupied Gaza strip must be immediately halted. It runs contrary to the ruling of the International Court of Justice that Israel must bring its occupation to an end as soon as possible, to the realisation of the agreed two-State solution and to the right of Palestinians to self-determination,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volket Türk said in a statement.
“On all evidence to date, this further escalation will result in more massive forced displacement, more killing, more unbearable suffering, senseless destruction and atrocity crimes.”
Instead of intensifying this war, he said, Israel “should put all its efforts into saving the lives of Gaza’s civilians by allowing the full, unfettered flow of humanitarian aid. The hostages must be immediately and unconditionally released by Palestinian armed groups. Palestinians arbitrarily detained by Israel must also be immediately and unconditionally released.”
EU
Israel’s decision to extend its military operation in Gaza “must be reconsidered”, said European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.
“Humanitarian aid must be given immediate and unhindered access to Gaza to deliver what is urgently needed on the ground.”
“A ceasefire is needed now,” she added.
Australia
Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong urged Israel “not to go down this path”, saying it will “only worsen the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza”.
She said permanent forced displacement was a violation of international law and repeated calls for a ceasefire and aid to flow unimpeded.
Australia’s Environment Minister Murray Watt had earlier also voiced his criticism, saying the government “strongly opposed the forced occupation of Gaza”.
Germany
Germany will suspend its arms exports to Israel which could be used in the Gaza Strip, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in reaction to Israel’s plans.
“Under these circumstances, the German government will not authorise any exports of military equipment that could be used in the Gaza Strip until further notice.”
Historically, Germany has been one of the largest arms suppliers to Israel.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the US was Israel’s largest supplier of military imports in the period between 2020-2024, with Germany the second largest.
Denmark
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen called on Israel to “immediately reverse its decision to take control of Gaza.”
8 August 2025
Source: countercurrents.org