Evacuation, Trump's speech, ‘no annexation’: What's inside Netanyahu's 'Gaza takeover' plan? Know here

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to approve a plan to "fully occupy" the Gaza Strip and achieve the three major objectives of his was with Hamas on Thursday (August 7) later in the day. The plan would be in phases and would cover the vast areas of the strip for around five months. The plan, which has been opposed by several top Israeli military officials, is aimed at displacing around a million Palestinians living in Gaza. Critics have raised concerns that the move will endanger the lives of hostages being held in those areas, as reported by Hebrew media.

Netanyahu, on Thursday, said that he wants to destroy the capabilities of Hamas and create defence parameters around Gaza. As of now, the Palestinian militant group has yet to release 50 hostages, only 20 of them alive.

The Israeli PM held a meeting for three hours on Tuesday (August 5) with his cabinet ministers and discussed all the options to achieve his war goals in Gaza.

What's in the plan?

As per a report by Channel 12, in the first phase of the plan, the Netanyahu government will issue an evacuation notice to 1 million residents of Gaza City - almost 50 per cent of the entire Palestinian population. This will, as per Netanyahu, give some time for his officials to establish civilian infrastructure like hospitals and camps in the Gaza Strip for evacuees. This process is said to last for several weeks.

In the second phase of the plan, the Israeli military will launch an offensive in the region. At that time, US President Donald Trump would give a speech in which he would announce the acceleration of humanitarian aid in coordination with Israel, the Channel 12 report said.

Meanwhile, the US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee told Bloomberg News on Wednesday (August 6) that there was an effort to add 12 aid sites to the already existing four, operated by the Israel- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.

Huckabee said, "A quadrupling over two months, if possible. It’s all about funding." He added, “I think there’s still some question about areas of the north that may depend on whether the IDF can clear those areas and make it safe.”

The US, along with other countries, would fund this expansion by donating around $1 billion to Israel. In addition, the plan also said that the civilian population of the strip is expected to be further pushed toward the southern Strip, while manoeuvres take place in areas where hostages are believed to be held, with efforts toward avoiding any harm to them.

Netanyahu's 3 war objectives

Netanyahu held a government meeting on Monday (August 4) and said he will soon brief his army on how to achieve the three specific war objectives in Gaza as he vowed to work to ensure Gaza "never again threatens Israel." Talking in the meeting, Netanyahu said, "1,955 years ago, just after the Ninth of [the Hebrew month of] Av, we suffered our greatest fall ever, which changed the face of Jewish history. Since then, we have been divided, separated and fighting each other."

What are the 3 war objectives?

As per an official statement released by his office, Netanyahu said that Israel has three major goals in the war with Hamas in Gaza. The objectives are: Defeating the "enemy", releasing hostages, and "ensuring that Gaza will never again threaten Israel."

"During the week, I will convene the Security Cabinet in order to direct the IDF on how to achieve these three objectives, all of them, without exception," the Israeli PM said.

The Israeli PM said his country is "continuing to build our land." Apart from this, Netanyahu also made an announcement saying, "Today, the Government will approve two very important plans for rebuilding and developing the south, at an overall value of NIS 3.2 billion.”