Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to push to “occupy all of the Gaza Strip” as ceasefire talks with Hamas founder and the hunger crisis in the besieged Palestinian enclave spirals.
A bid by Netanyahu to occupy all of Gaza would follow similar calls from members of his far-right government upon whom his fragile coalition relies, and could mark a significant shift in policy since Israel withdrew from the territory in 2005.
Officials from Netanyahu’s office said in a statement shared with NBC News on Monday night that the Israeli leader had decided to “occupy all of the Gaza Strip, including areas where hostages may be held.”
The statement was shared in Hebrew and the term used can be translated to mean both “occupy” and “conquer.” Netanyahu’s office did not immediately respond to a request for clarification on the intended definition, but Israeli media, including The Times of Israel, reported that Netanyahu intended to “fully occupy” the enclave.
Israeli media reported that Netanyahu would hold a limited security meeting on Tuesday to discuss the future of Israel’s campaign in Gaza.
Netanyahu had said Monday he planned to convene the security cabinet this week to “instruct” the Israeli military on how to achieve the three war objectives laid out at the start of Israel’s offensive in Gaza: defeating Hamas, seeing the release of hostages who remain held in the enclave and removing the threat of possible future attacks. Asked to confirm if the meeting would take place Tuesday, his office did not respond directly and referred NBC News to his comments Monday.
While the Hamas-led attacks of Oct. 7, 2023 that left 1,200 dead and saw 250 taken hostages garnered worldwide sympathy for Israel, the country’s actions in the territory have since sparked widespread international outrage.
The U.S. remains the biggest supplier of arms to Israel, with American spending on Israel’s military operations reaching more than $17.9 billion from Oct. 7 last year to Sept. 30, according to Brown University’s Costs of War Project.
There has been growing global alarm over Israel’s actions in the enclave amid a hunger crisis caused by the offensive and strict restrictions on the entry of aid, marked by mounting deaths from starvation.
The “worst-case scenario of famine“ is unfolding in the Gaza Strip under Israel’s assault, the world’s leading body on hunger said last week. Meanwhile, most of its residents have been driven from their homes and more than 60,900 killed, including thousands of children, according to local health officials.
Nearly 190 people in Gaza, including at least 94 children, have died from malnutrition since the war began, according to the Palestinian health ministry in Gaza.
There is mounting opposition to the war among Israelis. Many have long despaired over the fate of of the estimated 20 living hostages remaining in Gaza, and recent protests have expressed outrage over the children dying from malnutrition.
Fears for the hostages were also fueled after Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad released imagery in recent days showing visibly gaunt Israeli hostages Evyatar David and Rom Braslavski.
Earlier this month, a group representing hundreds of retired Israeli security officials that calls itself the Commanders for Israel’s Security’s leadership addressed a letter to President Donald Trump calling on him to pressure Israel to end the war.
In the letter, which was confirmed to NBC News, the group said it was their professional judgment that Hamas no longer posed a strategic threat — and that it was time to “end the war, return the hostages” and “stop the suffering.”
While the reoccupation of Gaza is largely unpopular with the Israeli public, it is supported on the far right.
Over the weekend, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called for Israel to “conquer” Gaza to and to encourage Palestinians to leave the enclave.
Ben-Gvir drew condemnation not only for his comments, but also for leading a group of worshippers in prayer at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, known to Jews as Temple Mount, violating a decades-old agreement allowing Jews to visit to Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site but not to worship there.
Ben-Gvir has repeatedly called for Israel to “conquer” Gaza, and called for rebuilding of Israeli settlements there alongside other right-wing ministers, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
Israel captured the Gaza Strip, then occupied by Egypt, after the 1967 war, but withdrew settlers — some of them forcefully — in 2005. In 2006, residents elected Islamist militant and political group Hamas in legislative elections, precipitating clashes with more secular Palestinian faction of Fatah. Hamas seized full control of the enclave in 2007.