Key points
- Israeli forces to operate in all Gaza areas
- Palestinian ministry urges urgent international intervention
- Netanyahu under pressure as Gaza death toll rises
ISLAMABAD: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reportedly preparing to announce plans for a full occupation of the Gaza Strip, according to several Israeli media outlets.
The reported move would see the Israeli military expand its operations throughout the entire territory, including areas where Hamas is believed to be holding captives. Outlets such as i24NEWS, The Jerusalem Post, Channel 12, and Ynet reported the development on Monday.
⚡️ BREAKING
Israel’s Channel 14, quoting sources close to Netanyahu: The Prime Minister has made a decision to fully occupy the Gaza Strip pic.twitter.com/JMoiNyU0pI
— Warfare Analysis (@warfareanalysis) August 4, 2025
“The decision has been made,” said Amit Sega, chief political analyst for Channel 12, quoting an unnamed senior official from Netanyahu’s office.
“Hamas won’t release more hostages without total surrender, and we won’t surrender. If we don’t act now, the hostages will starve to death and Gaza will remain under Hamas’s control.”
War cabinet meeting
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs denounced the reported plans, urging the international community to “intervene urgently to prevent their implementation, whether they are a form of pressure, trial balloons to gauge international reactions, or genuinely serious”, reports Al Jazeera.
While Canada plays politics with sanctioned airdrops Jerusalem Post is reporting that Netanyahu has declared full occupation of Gaza pic.twitter.com/ZeJtmUVlmt
— Edward Row (@edwardrow) August 4, 2025
The reports coincide with Netanyahu’s upcoming war cabinet meeting on Tuesday, where further military action in Gaza is expected to be discussed. The conflict is now nearing its two-year mark.
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu says he’ll convene his security cabinet this week to discuss how to instruct Israel’s military to proceed in Gaza, adding that Israel would continue its war until it met all “objectives.”
🔴 LIVE updates: https://t.co/3AtTrvxVLL pic.twitter.com/mMq7GgaGN5
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) August 4, 2025
Netanyahu is under increasing international pressure to allow greater humanitarian aid into Gaza and bring an end to the conflict, as the number of Palestinian deaths continues to climb due to malnutrition and Israeli airstrikes.
Israel’s war objectives
Medical sources in Gaza reported that at least 74 Palestinians, including 36 people queuing for aid, were killed in Israeli strikes on Monday.
Nevertheless, Netanyahu reaffirmed his commitment to Israel’s war objectives, including the destruction of Hamas and the release of remaining hostages.
“We must continue to stand together and fight together to achieve all our war objectives: the defeat of the enemy, the release of our hostages, and the assurance that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel,” he said during a regular cabinet meeting on Monday.
Ceasefire agreement
Senior Hamas figure Osama Hamdan on Monday accused the United States and other Western nations of ignoring Israeli crimes.
Following the collapse of indirect ceasefire talks with Hamas, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said that he will convene his security cabinet to decide on Israel’s next steps in Gaza, while a senior Israeli source suggested more force could be an option https://t.co/7Te5R4AT4o pic.twitter.com/nDOEH5Z23x
— Reuters (@Reuters) August 5, 2025
He said Netanyahu’s government bore “full responsibility” for the fate of the captives “due to its stubbornness, arrogance, and evasion of reaching a ceasefire agreement, and the escalation of the war of extermination and starvation against our people”.
Since October 2023, more than 60,930 Palestinians – including at least 18,430 children – have been killed in Gaza, according to local health authorities.
Netanyahu says there “is no starvation in Gaza.”
That’s a lie.
Trump and Congress must decide: will you continue to support the starvation of children, or are you willing to use all possible U.S. leverage to stop this horrific humanitarian disaster? pic.twitter.com/zkh5kWGHUc
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) July 28, 2025
Israeli officials say 49 hostages remain in Hamas custody, with 27 believed to be dead.
