Israeli Cabinet Approvs Gaza City Occupation Plan Amid Rising Civilian Deaths
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - In another step in the regime’s campaign of mass displacement and destruction, Israel’s war cabinet has approved a full-scale plan to occupy Gaza City, War Minister Israel Katz announced Friday.
Katz said the Israeli military had received the green light for operations involving “intensive fire, evacuation of civilians, and maneuvers,” declaring that “the gates of hell will open upon Hamas” if the group refuses Tel Aviv’s demands for disarmament and the release of hostages.
He warned that Gaza City would be turned into “Rafah and Beit Hanoun” if Hamas resistance does not submit to Israeli conditions.
The plan envisions pushing nearly one million Palestinians southward, encircling the city, and conducting ground raids into densely populated neighborhoods.
The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas earlier this week said it had accepted a ceasefire proposal put forward by Egyptian and Qatari mediators, though details were not disclosed.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army escalated its bombardment across the Gaza Strip on Friday, killing at least 25 Palestinians in a single day, according to medics.
Twelve people, including women and children, were killed and dozens wounded when Israeli artillery shelled a school sheltering displaced families in the Sheikh Ridwan neighborhood of Gaza City.
In the same area, five members of one family, including three children, were killed when an Israeli strike hit a tent for the displaced. Another airstrike targeted a residential building in the Shati refugee camp, killing a Palestinian couple and their two daughters.
In southeastern Gaza City’s Sabra neighborhood, an Israeli raid killed a mother and son and struck near a medical center and mosque. In central Gaza’s Nuseirat camp, two people were killed and five injured when Israeli drones hit a residential apartment.
Israeli forces also bombed a water desalination plant in western Khan Younis, wounding civilians waiting to collect water, and later targeted a house in the Khan Younis refugee camp, injuring several.
Since October 2023, Israel’s military assault has killed more than 62,100 Palestinians in Gaza and plunged the enclave into famine conditions.
In November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
At the same time, Israel stands trial at the International Court of Justice over accusations of genocide in Gaza, a case that underscores the growing international isolation of the regime as civilian casualties mount.
