Israel mobilising 400,000 troops for ‘full occupation' of Gaza in WEEKS in Netanyahu's plan to end war
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ISRAEL is set to mobilise more than 400,000 troops as it plans to establish a full military occupation in the Gaza Strip.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu aims to completely flush out terrorists from the besieged enclave after vowing to "free Gaza from Hamas".
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Smoke rises after Israeli warplanes bombed buildings in a residential area
Credit: AFP
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Israeli soldiers work on a tank in an IDF staging area along in southern Israel along the border with the Gaza Strip
Credit: Alamy
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference at the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem
Credit: Reuters
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The plan would see the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) expand the war and fully take over the Gaza City and some of the central camps - the last few parts of the strip not under Israeli control.
This would allow Israel - which currently controls roughly 70 per cent of Gaza - to establish a full military occupation in the strip.
Netanyahu claims these parts of Gaza - home to well over half a million Palestinians - are the last remaining Hamas strongholds.
His government has now granted Defence Minister Israel Katz permission to call up some 430,000 military reservists until November 30.
Israeli Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara said on Sunday that the country has no alternative but to continue mobilising reservists, i24 reported.
Netanyahu was defiant on Sunday, telling journalists: "This is the best way to end the war, and the best way to end it speedily."
"Our goal is not to occupy Gaza, our goal is to free Gaza."
The goals, he said, include demilitarising the territory, the Israeli military having overriding security control and a non-Israeli civilian administration in charge.
To support the humanitarian effort, Israel plans to increase aid deliveries significantly.
Daily aid truck convoys are expected to increase from 300 to 1,200,
Plans are also to establish more humanitarian aid distribution centres in non-combat zones.
However, criticism has only intensified after Netanyahu's security cabinet announced plans to expand the conflict.
Israel to fully occupy Gaza City in 'five step plan' to finally destroy Hamas, free hostages, and end bloody war
Israel is now expected to tell civilians in Gaza City to evacuate by October 7 before the IDF launches a full military occupation.
The population will be ordered to move to the south of the strip before new offensive operations begin.
It is widely understood that the plan will apply to every piece of the enclave not yet under Israeli control.
Israeli security officials estimate the occupation could continue for at least half a year.
Netanyahu said the new operation would be implemented on "a fairly short timetable".
He said the operation will aim "to dismantle the two remaining Hamas strongholds in Gaza City and the central camps", while establishing secure corridors and safe zones to allow civilians to leave the area.
"Israel has no choice but to finish the job and complete the defeat of Hamas. Now, we've done a great deal. We have about 70 to 75 per cent of Gaza under Israeli control, military control," he said.
"But we have two remaining strongholds, OK? These are Gaza City and the central camps in Al Mawasi."
After Hamas is wiped out and Gaza becomes demilitarised, the PM says Israel will maintain "security responsibility".
What is Israel's five-step plan for Gaza? Disarmament of Hamas Return of all hostages – living and dead Demilitarisation of the Gaza Strip Israeli security control over Gaza Creation of a new civil administration that excludes both Hamas and the Palestinian Authority
A "non-Israeli civilian administration" will be established in Gaza within 24 hours, he added.
Israel's cabinet also signed off on five guiding principles to conclude the war this week with a roadmap that leaves no room for compromise with Hamas.
Israel has made it clear that the terrorist group must be stripped of its weapons entirely - not just weakened, but dismantled - to prevent any future attacks on Israeli civilians.
The 22-month war has left tens of thousands dead after Hamas attacked Israeli civilians on October 7.
They took 251 hostages during the assault, with 49 still being held in Gaza - including 27 who the IDF say are dead.
The return of all hostages, both living and dead, is also a non-negotiable pillar of the plan.
Israeli leaders have stressed that no resolution will be accepted unless it includes the safe return of every captive held in Gaza.
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Palestinians struggle to get donated food at a community kitchen in northern Gaza
Credit: AP
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Smoke plumes rising from Israeli bombardment in Beit Lahia
Credit: AFP
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IDF troops inside Gaza
Credit: Reuters
Israel's offensive has killed at least 61,430 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry, figures the United Nations says are reliable.
According to Gaza's civil defence agency, at least 27 people were killed by Israeli fire across the territory Sunday, including 11 who were waiting near aid distribution centres.
An Israeli strike also killed five journalists who were working for Al Jazeera.
They were all stationed inside a media tent near Gaza City's Al-Shifa Hospital, which was targeted.
Correspondents Anas al-Sharif and Mohammed Qreiqeh, cameramen Ibrahim Zaher and Moamen Aliwa, and their assistant Mohammed Noufal have all been named by the publication.
The IDF confirmed it struck al-Sharif, 28, who has been one of Al Jazeera's top reporters out in northern Gaza throughout the war.
Israel accused al-Sharif of "serving as the head of a terrorist cell in Hamas" for some time during the war.
They said he has been posing as a journalist and claimed he is "responsible for advancing rocket attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF troops".
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