Israel announced on Friday its formal decision to launch a full occupation of Gaza City, a move that signals a major escalation in the more than two-year-long genocide. The plan, approved by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet, involves taking complete military and civil control of the city, which is currently a refuge for the vast majority of the Gaza Strip’s displaced population.
The announcement has been met with widespread international outcry and warnings of devastating consequences for the already starving and desperate civilians in the besieged enclave. The Israeli government has stated its objective is to maintain control until an “alternative civil administration that is neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority” can be established.
Hamas condemned the plan as a “full-fledged war crime” that would come at a “high cost,” while Palestinian Islamic Jihad called it “a new chapter in the genocidal war against our people.”
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A deepening humanitarian crisis and global backlash
The decision comes amid a catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza, with the United Nations and various aid organisations reporting widespread famine and the killing of hundreds of aid seekers. According to an Israeli source cited by CNN, the plan includes halting all aid distribution in Gaza City to compel Palestinians to evacuate ahead of an October deadline.
This has drawn sharp criticism from world leaders. Australia’s foreign minister Penny Wong stated that “permanent forced displacement is a violation of international law,” while United Kingdom’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the decision “wrong” and urged Israel to “reconsider immediately,” adding it “will only bring more bloodshed”. Turkey, meanwhile, described the move as “a new phase of its expansionist and genocidal policy in the region” and Spain’s foreign minister José Manuel Albares “strongly” condemned the announcement, predicting it would “only lead to further destruction and suffering”.
Humanitarian activist Nkosi Zulu, recently returned from a visit to the West Bank, drew parallels between the Israeli military’s conduct and experiences under apartheid in South Africa. He described the systemic nature of the Israeli military presence, noting, “You are immediately faced with checkpoints in each and every city.”
Zulu argues that the current situation is an extension of a long-standing policy, stating, “That is how the occupation is so bad in Palestine. It relates exactly to what we experienced in South Africa prior to 1994.”
Internal dissent has also surfaced within Israel. Opposition leader Yair Lapid labelled the decision a “disaster that will lead to many more disasters,” accusing Netanyahu of being influenced by far-right allies. Former Israeli defence minister Benny Gantz called it a “diplomatic failure that is wasting the IDF’s great achievements.”
The IDF’s own chief of staff, Eyal Zamir, reportedly voiced opposition, warning that the plan would endanger the remaining Israeli hostages and place an already exhausted military at greater risk.
Analysts have questioned the feasibility and long-term costs of the operation. Ofer Guterman, a senior researcher at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies, acknowledged that while Israel has the military capacity for the takeover, a lengthy occupation would be complicated by “political disagreements, economic strains, and public discontent.” The financial burden is projected to be immense, with one expert estimating a cost of nearly $6 billion in the coming months alone, alongside the “incomprehensible costs” of sustaining Gaza’s shattered population.
Image: Benjamin Netanyahu. [AP: Mark Schiefelbein]
