GAZA War: Israel’s Minister of Defense approves Plan for Gaza intake

According to media reports, the Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has approved a plan of the army for taking the city of Gaza. The “Times of Israel” reported that around 60,000 reservists were to be convened for this.

The approval was given, although the Islamist Hamas had submitted a “positive answer” for a new proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip the day before. An official reaction of Israel is expected until the end of the week. According to media reports, the security cabinet should come together on Thursday.

It was speculated that the security cabinet’s decision to expand the war could be a negotiation tactic in order to put Hamas under pressure, to return to the negotiating table and to show itself more flexibly.

Israeli media, citing a senior government representative, reported that Israel’s politics was “constant” and did not change. Israel therefore calls for the release of all 50 hostages “according to the principles set by the cabinet for the termination of the war.” It also said: “We are in the final phase of the decision about Hamas and will not leave a single hostage.”

Israel’s conditions for the end of the war

Israel’s demands for the termination of the war are the disarmament of Hamas, the return of all hostages, the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip, Israeli security control and an alternative civil administration that is neither exerted by Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority.

Army is planning evacuation of the city of Gaza

According to media reports, the plan provides for the evacuation of the city, in which, according to estimates, around one million people are. The news portal “Ynet” reported that Katz also approved preparations for the inclusion of civilians from the city of Gaza in one place further south in the coastal strip. There, your supply of humanitarian aid goods should be guaranteed.

According to media reports, military chief Ejal Zamir warned of major risks of the plan for soldiers and remaining hostages, but ultimately developed planning to fulfill the requirements of the political management of the country.

It is feared that the offensive will worsen the already catastrophic situation of the civilian population in the Gaza Strip. Since the beginning of the Gaza War almost two years ago, almost all two million inhabitants of the coastal strip have become inland. More than 70 percent of the houses in the Gaza Strip have been destroyed or severely damaged, reported aid organizations, citing satellite shots. In some areas it is 80 to 90 percent.

Israel’s warfare is increasingly criticized internationally. Since the beginning of the Gaza War, according to the health authority controlled by the Hamas, more than 62,000 Palestinians have been killed in the coastal strip, including many women and children.

“Hamas is under enormous pressure”

So far, Netanyahu only said that he had heard reports on a “positive answer” of Hamas on the proposal for a ceasefire submitted by Egypt and Qatar. “Hamas is under enormous pressure,” he said.

Committee advises on settlement plans in the West Bank

Meanwhile, a planning committee in Israel is now advising on the approval of controversial construction plans for settlements in a particularly sensitive area in West Bank. It is about the construction of around 3,400 residential units in the so-called E1 area between East Jerusalem and the Maale Adumim settlement. A development there would actually divide the West Bank into a northern and a southern part.

This makes a coherent territory more difficult for a future Palestinian state, if not impossible. Several countries such as France, Canada and Australia want to recognize such a state in September. Israel, on the other hand, rejects recognition as a “reward for Hamas” after the massacre on October 7, 2023.

Israel’s army: kidnapper of Jarden Bibas killed

The massacre, in which around 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 more were dragged into the Gaza strips, had triggered the war. The Israeli army said that one of the Hamas fighter, who is said to have been involved in the kidnapping of the father of the family Jarden Bibas that day. Bibas was the only one to his family to survive hostage and had been released during a ceasefire in February.

The corpses of his wife Schiri and the two small sons were buried after the handover with great sympathy. The three also had German citizenship.

Expert: The ball is now with Israel

According to media reports, the recent proposal for a ceasefire is an updated version of the previously negotiated proposal of the US special envoy Steve Witkoff. This provides for a 60 -day fire break, while the ten living hostages are released in return for Palestinian prisoners. In total there are still 50 hostages in Gaza, of which at least 20 are still alive.

The Arabic mediators would have given the Hamas ahead of the choice: either accepting the temporary ceasefire already offered in the previous negotiating rounds or dispensing with their power and weapons as part of a comprehensive agreement to the release of all hostages and ending the war, the “Wall Street Journal” quoted Arab officials.

Hamas has now approved the first option primarily because Egypt and Qatar put pressure on them to prevent Israel’s planned intake of the city of Gaza, said Michael Milshtein, former head of the Palestinian affairs department at Israel’s military secret service, the US newspaper. “The ball is now with Israel. It gets the same ball exactly,” he said.

Israel examines the proposal, but since he did not provide for the release of all hostages, officials thought it was rather unlikely that the leadership will react positively to this, reported the “Jerusalem Post”.