Israel Plans to Capture All of Gaza    05/05 06:09

   Israel approved plans on Monday to capture the entire Gaza Strip and remain 
in the territory for an unspecified amount of time, two Israeli officials said, 
in a move that if implemented would vastly expand Israel's operations in the 
Palestinian territory and likely bring fierce international opposition.

   TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) -- Israel approved plans on Monday to capture the 
entire Gaza Strip and remain in the territory for an unspecified amount of 
time, two Israeli officials said, in a move that if implemented would vastly 
expand Israel's operations in the Palestinian territory and likely bring fierce 
international opposition.

   Israeli Cabinet ministers approved the plan in an early morning vote, hours 
after the Israeli military chief said the army was calling up tens of thousands 
of reserve soldiers.

   The new plan, which the officials said was meant to help Israel achieve its 
war aims of defeating Hamas and freeing hostages held in Gaza, also would push 
hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to southern Gaza, what would likely 
exacerbate an already dire humanitarian crisis.

   Since a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas collapsed in mid-March, Israel 
has unleashed fierce strikes on the territory that have killed hundreds. It has 
captured swathes of territory and now controls roughly 50% of Gaza. Before the 
truce ended, Israel halted all humanitarian aid into Gaza, including food, fuel 
and water, setting off what is believed to the be the worst humanitarian crisis 
in nearly 19 months of war.

   The ban on aid has prompted widespread hunger and shortages have set off 
looting.

   Israel is trying to ratchet up pressure on Hamas

   The Israeli officials said the plan included the "capturing of the strip and 
the holding of territories." The plan would also seek to prevent the militant 
Hamas group from distributing humanitarian aid, which Israel says strengthens 
the group's rule in Gaza. It also accuses Hamas of keeping the aid for itself 
to bolsters its capabilities. The plan also included powerful strikes against 
Hamas targets, the officials said.

   The officials said Israel was in touch with several countries about 
President Donald Trump's plan to take over Gaza and relocate its population, 
under what Israel has termed "voluntary emigration" yet which has sparked 
condemnations from Israel's allies in Europe and the Arab world.

   One of the officials said the plan would be implemented gradually. Both 
officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing military 
plans.

   For weeks, Israel has been trying to ratchet up pressure on Hamas and prompt 
it to show more flexibility in ceasefire negotiations. But international 
mediators trying to bring the sides toward a new deal have struggled to do so. 
Israel's measures do not appear to have moved Hamas away from its negotiating 
positions.

   The previous ceasefire was meant to lead the sides to negotiate an end to 
the war, but that goal has been a repeated sticking point in talks between 
Israel and Hamas. Israel says it won't agree to end the war until Hamas is 
defeated. Hamas meanwhile has demanded an agreement that winds down the war.

   Israel's expansion announcement has angered families of the hostages. The 
Hostage Forum, which supports families, said on Monday that the plan puts every 
hostage at risk and urged Israel's decision-makers to secure a deal and 
prioritize the hostages.

   At a Knesset committee meeting Monday, Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is 
being held hostage, called on soldiers "not to report for reserve duty for 
moral and ethical reasons."

   Israel wants to prevent Hamas from handling aid

   The Israeli officials did not disclose details on how the plan seeks to 
prevent Hamas from involvement in aid distribution. One said the ministers had 
approved "the option of aid distribution," without elaborating.

   According to an internal memo circulated among aid groups and seen by The 
Associated Press, Israel told the United Nations that it will use private 
security companies to control aid distribution in Gaza. The U.N., in a 
statement Sunday, said it would not participate in the plan as presented to it, 
saying it violates its core principles.

   The memo, sent to aid organizations on Sunday, detailed notes from a meeting 
between the Israeli defense body in charge of coordinating aid to Gaza, COGAT 
and the UN.

   Under COGAT's plan, all aid will enter Gaza through the Kerem Shalom 
crossing, letting approximately 60 trucks enter daily and distributing 20 
kilograms of aid parcels directly to people on the day of entry, although their 
contents were unclear as was how many people will have access to the aid.

   The memo said the aid will be distributed at logistics hubs, which will be 
run by private security companies. The memo said that facial recognition will 
be used to identify Palestinians at the hubs and SMS alerts will notify people 
in the area that they can collect aid.

   Aid workers say the plan to centralize aid, rather than delivering it to 
Palestinians where they are, will forcibly displace people.

   The fighting has displaced more than 90% of Gaza's population, often 
multiple times, and turned Gaza into an uninhabitable moonscape.

   The UN accuses Israel of wanting to control aid as a 'pressure tactic'

   The U.N. said the plan would leave large parts of the population, including 
the most vulnerable, without supplies. It said the plan "appears designed to 
reinforce control over life-sustaining items as a pressure tactic -- as part of 
a military strategy."

   The memo says that the U.S. government has voiced clear support for Israel's 
plan, but it's unclear who would provide funding for the private military 
companies or the aid.

   COGAT and the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem did not immediately respond to a 
request for comment.

   Earlier this week, the AP obtained dozens of documents about aid groups' 
concerns that the hubs could end up permanently displacing Palestinians and 
forcing them to live in "de facto internment conditions".

   Meanwhile, Israeli strikes across Gaza continued overnight, killing at least 
17 people in northern Gaza, according to hospital staff. Strikes hit Gaza City, 
Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya and among the dead were eight women and children, 
according to staff at the Shifa hospital, where the bodies were brought.

   The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, 
killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages. Israel says 59 captives 
remain in Gaza, although about 35 are believed to be dead.

   Israel's offensive has killed more than 52,000 people in Gaza, many of them 
women and children, according to Palestinian health officials, who do not 
distinguish between combatants and civilians in their count.

   Israel occupied Gaza in the 1967 Mideast war and withdrew troops and 
settlers in 2005. Two years later, Hamas took over and has controlled the 
territory since.