Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed Monday evening that a plan has been finalized for Israel to fully occupy the Gaza Strip, according to multiple reports from Israeli media outlets.
The announcement comes at a tense moment in the nearly two-year-long conflict between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian terror group that launched a surprise attack on Israel in October 2023, killing over 1,000 civilians and taking hundreds of hostages.
The new plan reportedly calls for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to operate in areas of Gaza that have so far remained off-limits, especially zones where remaining hostages are believed to be held. These areas are known to be heavily fortified by Hamas, which has threatened to execute hostages if Israeli troops get too close.
Israel stands strong: Prime Minister Netanyahu has approved the IDF’s plan to fully occupy the Gaza Strip, countering Hamas’s rejection of the ceasefire deal, emboldened by certain Western countries rewarding terrorism. Military pressure is now our only path to freeing the… pic.twitter.com/If8ndXIxlb
— Eden Shaul (@Eden_Shaul02) August 5, 2025
This follows a tragic incident in Rafah last September when six hostages—including American citizen Hersh Goldberg-Polin—were murdered by Hamas shortly before IDF troops reached them. It remains unclear whether the new plan includes new intelligence to prevent similar losses or if the risk has simply been accepted as necessary.
The decision has caused internal tension within Israel’s military leadership. Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office reportedly told IDF Chief of Staff, Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir, that if he disagrees with the full occupation plan, he should resign. “If this does not suit him, you should resign,” an official in the Prime Minister’s office said, according to The Jerusalem Post.
Hamas had previously been in indirect ceasefire talks, but those negotiations collapsed last month. President Donald Trump responded by calling the group’s behavior reckless and destructive. “Hamas didn’t really want to make a deal. I think they want to die, and it’s very, very bad,” Trump said, adding that the group knows “what happens after you get the final hostages.”
Trump’s statement came after American Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said that Hamas had not acted in good faith during talks. “It is a shame that Hamas has acted in this selfish way,” Witkoff said in a statement, adding that the U.S. and Israel are now looking at “alternative options” to bring the remaining hostages home and to create stability in Gaza.
In recent days, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad have released disturbing videos showing hostages who appear severely malnourished. One hostage, Evyatar David, is shown being forced to dig his own grave. “This is the grave I think I’m going to be buried in. Time is running out,” David says in the video, a scene that has stunned viewers across the world.
Reports also indicate that Hamas is blocking food from reaching the hostages unless Israel agrees to permanently open humanitarian corridors and suspend all air traffic during aid deliveries—demands Israel has so far refused.
Hamas: “We will repeat the October 7 massacre time and again, 1M times if we need to, until we end the occupation.”
Journalist: “Occupation of Gaza?”
Hamas: “No, all of Israel.”
pic.twitter.com/04OYHI0cVQ— Eyal Yakoby (@EYakoby) August 4, 2025
While military operations have slowed in some parts of the region, the IDF has nearly completed Operation Gideon’s Chariots. The campaign led to the Israeli military regaining control over about 75% of Gaza, according to The Times of Israel. The IDF has since withdrawn its elite 98th Division—comprised of paratroopers and commandos—as well as two reserve brigades.
Since the operation began, 48 Israeli soldiers have been killed.
Now, as Israel considers fully occupying Gaza, global attention is locked on what happens next.
