Netanyahu: Israel Plans to Take Over All of Gaza

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that to destroy Hamas, Israel intends to take full control of the Gaza Strip and eventually transfer its administration to friendly Arab forces.

• Asked in an interview with Fox News ahead of a Security Cabinet meeting if Israel would "take control of all of Gaza," Netanyahu replied: "We intend to, in order to assure our security, remove Hamas there, enable the population to be free of Gaza." He added: "We don't want to keep it. We want to have a security perimeter. We want to hand it over to Arab forces that will govern it properly without threatening us and giving Gazans a good life."
• When asked if President Trump had given the plan the green light, Netanyahu said, "We haven't got into that kind of discussion," the Times of Israel reports.

• Netanyahu offered few specifics about the plan, the New York Times reports. Some analysts believe he is threatening to widen the offensive to win concessions from Hamas in ceasefire talks.
• Expanding military operations in Gaza would put the lives of countless Palestinians and the roughly 20 remaining Israeli hostages at risk while further isolating Israel internationally, the AP reports. Israel already controls around three quarters of the devastated territory. The BBC reports that taking full control of Gaza would require Israel to send in tens of thousands more troops.
• Families of hostages held in Gaza fear an escalation could doom their loved ones, and some protested outside the Security Cabinet meeting in Jerusalem. Former top Israeli security officials have also come out against the plan, warning of a quagmire with little added military benefit.