The Israeli government has approved a plan to expand the war in Gaza, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet backing his proposal after 10 hours of deliberations. The goal is to achieve a decisive victory over Hamas, which led the October 7 attack on Israel that started the conflict.
The plan includes taking control of Gaza City and pushing into central areas where Hamas is believed to be holding Israeli hostages. However, it does not explicitly pledge to take full control of the entire Gaza Strip.
The cabinet also approved five principles for ending the war, including disarming Hamas, releasing 50 hostages, demilitarizing Gaza, establishing Israeli security control, and setting up an alternative civilian administration that does not involve Hamas or the Palestinian Authority.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/07/world/middleeast/israel-gaza-military-offensive.html