Israel Threatens To Seize All Gaza If There Is No Hostage Agreement, Non-Intensive Hamas

JAKARTA - The militant group Hamas remains in its stance, although Israel has threatened to seize the entire territory of the Gaza Strip, after the Security Cabinet approved steps to expand military operations in the Palestinian enclave.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday the expanded attack on Hamas would be "intensive", after his security cabinet approved plans that might include the seizure of the Gaza Strip and control of aid.

But an Israeli defense official said the operation would not be launched before US President Donald Trump ended his visit to the Middle East next week.

The decision, after weeks of failed attempts to agree to a ceasefire with Hamas, underscores the threat of war that is increasing international pressure on Israel, amid reduced public support at home, could continue endless.

Israel's public broadcaster Kan, citing officials familiar with the details, said the new plan was gradual and would take months, with troops focused first on an area in Gaza.

PM Netanyahu said in a video message the operation would be "intensive" and would see more Palestinians in Gaza displaced "to their own safety pandemic".

He said Israeli forces would not follow the previous tactics based on brief attacks by troops based outside Gaza.

"The goal is the opposite," he said, echoing comments from other Israeli officials who said Israel would defend the territory it had captured.

Meanwhile, an Israeli official said the newly approved attack would seize the entire Gaza Strip region, move its civilians to the south and prevent humanitarian aid from falling into Hamas hands.

The defense official said the distribution of aid, which has been handled by international aid groups and UN organizations, would be transferred to private companies and distributed in the southern region of Rafah once the attacks began.

Israel resumed its attacks in March following the failure of a US-backed ceasefire that had halted fighting for two months. Since then, Israel has imposed a aid blockade, prompting warnings from the United Nations that its 2.3 million residents face imminent hunger.

The defense official said Israel would maintain the security zone captured along Gaza's perimeter as the zone was important to protect Israeli society around the enclave.

However, he said there was a "wind window" for the ceasefire and an agreement to release hostages during President Trump's visit.

"If there is no agreement on the hostages, the "Operation Gideon Chariots" will start with high intensity and will not stop until all its goals are achieved," he said.

Separately, Hamas official Mahmoud Mardiwi rejected what he called "pressure and extortion".

"There is no agreement except for a comprehensive agreement, which includes a total ceasefire, a full withdrawal from Gaza, the rebuilding of the Gaza Strip, and the release of all prisoners from both sides," he said.

It is known that the latest conflict in Gaza broke out on October 7, 2023, when a Palestinian militant group led by Hamas attacked Israel's southern region, leaving 1,200 people dead and 251 others held hostage, according to Israeli calculations.

That was in response to a blockade, airstrikes and military operations by Israel. Having paused in line with the ceasefire deal and the exchange of hostages on January 19, Israel resumed its operations in Gaza following the end of the ceasefire on March 18.

Separately, the death toll of Palestinian civilians as a result of Israeli attacks since October 7, 2023 has reached 52,567 people, the majority of children and women, and injured 118,610 others, as reported by WAFA.

Israel's troops have taken over an area of about a third of Gaza, displacing residents and building surveillance towers and surveillance posts on vacant land that the military describes as a security zone, but the new plan will go even further.