JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel’s security cabinet approved plans for an expanded operation in the Gaza Strip, Israeli media reported on Friday, adding to signs that attempts to stop the fighting and return hostages held by Hamas have made no progress.
The decision came after comments from both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the head of the military, Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir this week indicating that Israel intended to step up the campaign in Gaza.
Since the collapse of an earlier ceasefire agreement in March, Israeli troops have been carving out wide buffer zones in Gaza, squeezing the 2.3 million population into an ever narrower zone in the centre of the enclave and along the coast and shutting off the entry of aid trucks.
“As long as Hamas does not release our hostages, we will significantly deepen our military action,” ynet, one of Israel’s main news outlets quoted an unnamed Israeli official as saying.
A spokesperson for Netanyahu’s office declined to comment on the reports, which said the decision would be approved by the full cabinet on Sunday.
On Thursday, Netanyahu said that while Israel was seeking the return of its hostages, of whom up to 24 are believed to be alive, its ultimate goal in Gaza remained to defeat Hamas.
“In war, there is the ultimate goal – and that ultimate goal is the victory over our enemies,” he said.
Despite efforts by Egyptian and Qatari mediators to restore the ceasefire, neither Israel nor Hamas has shown willingness to back down on core demands, with each side blaming the other for the failure to reach a deal.
Israel, which wants the return of 59 hostages still held in Gaza, has insisted that Hamas must disarm and be excluded from any role in the future governance of the enclave, a condition that Hamas rejects.
The group, which ran Gaza since 2007, has insisted on agreeing a lasting end to the fighting and a withdrawal of Israeli forces as a condition for a deal that would see a release of the hostages.
Earlier, Netanyahu’s office issued a statement denying that it had rejected a ceasefire proposal put forward by Egyptian mediators, and saying Hamas was standing in the way of a deal to halt the fighting.
Israeli commanders have said the military was ready to step up its operations in Gaza at short notice.
“We will use all the power at our disposal, we will increase the pace and intensity of the operation, and if required we’ll do so soon,” Zamir said at an Independence Day ceremony on Thursday.
On Friday, Israeli strikes continued to hit different areas of Gaza, killing at least 25 Palestinians, Gaza health authorities said.
Israel’s campaign was triggered by the devastating Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, that killed 1,200 people in southern Israel and saw 251 taken hostage. It has so far killed more than 50,000 Palestinians and devastated Gaza where aid groups have warned the Israeli blockade risks a humanitarian disaster.
(Reporting by James Mackenzie; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
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