Netanyahu‘s plan to occupy all of the Gaza Strip is expected to be given the green light this afternoon (6 o’clock Israel time) by his government’s cabinet, with Israeli media reporting that the occupation will last for a period of 4-5 months, displacing an estimated one million Palestinians again.

The plan, which is opposed by senior IDF officers who fear it will endanger the lives of Hamas hostages, is reportedly aimed at destroying what remains of the Palestinian terrorist organization and forcing it to release the 50 hostages it still holds, some 20 of whom are alive, after the recent failure of talks to reach an agreement.

As the Times of Israel reports, Netanyahu’s plan will begin by taking Gaza City and the camps in the central Strip, driving about half of the enclave’s population southward toward the Mauashi humanitarian zone.

The two phases of the plan

According to Channel 12 News, in the first phase of the plan, Israel will issue an evacuation warning to Gaza City residents – estimated to be around 1 million people – to allow time to build infrastructure for civilians in the city center including hospitals and camps for displaced people with this phase expected to last several weeks.

In the second phase, Israel will launch a military offensive, during which US President Donald Trump is expected to deliver a speech announcing the acceleration of humanitarian aid in coordination with Israel.

Ynet, Kan Channel and Channel 13 reported that four to five IDF divisions were expected to be involved in the operation. According to Kan, in addition to Gaza City in the northern part of the Strip, the plan was to expand to the camps in central Gaza, where the IDF has so far had little presence.

The civilian population is expected to be pushed further into the southern part of the Strip, and operations will be carried out in areas where hostages are believed to be held, with efforts to prevent any harm to them.

All versions of the plan, according to the same sources, were presented in a three-hour discussion among a smaller group on Tuesday in which IDF Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zemir presented Netanyahu with several options for continuing military operations in the Gaza Strip.

The role of the aid centers

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee told Bloomberg on Wednesday that there is pressure for the rapid addition of 12 aid centers to the four already operating under Israeli and U.S. auspices.

The expansion would be funded with about $1 billion in donations from the U.S. and other countries, Channel 12 reported, adding that the goal would be to give Gazans access to aid that bypasses Hamas while Gaza City is under Israeli control.

The proposal that appears to be rejected

Kan Channel also carried information about an alternative plan on the table that calls for surrounding Gaza City and the camps in its center, blocking aid to those areas and launching targeted raids, rather than a full occupation, aimed at exhausting Hamas.

The downside to this plan would be that it would take time, but security officials have said that this could be a first step before taking the areas, with Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly rejecting this plan.