Israeli Meeting Discusses Gaza Occupation Plan

Israeli Channel 12 reported on Saturday evening that a meeting involving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer discussed a “plan to occupy the city of Gaza.” The channel confirmed that the meeting, which included Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, addressed the planned military attack on Gaza City, where a dispute arose between Zamir on one side and Smotrich and Ben-Gvir on the other. Zamir stated during the meeting that “it is difficult to set a timeframe for evacuating Palestinian civilians from Gaza,” to which Smotrich responded, “This is not what the political leadership ordered; you do not want to defeat Hamas.” The Finance Minister told Zamir during the meeting, “We tasked you with taking swift action. If someone does not evacuate, do not give them water or electricity. Let them starve or surrender. This is what we want, and you can do it.” General Eyal Zamir responded by shouting at him: “You do not understand anything; you do not know the difference between a battalion and a brigade. This takes time.” Netanyahu added in a statement reported by “Yedioth Ahronoth”: “Israel is at the decision-making stage,” confirming that he instructed “to begin immediate negotiations regarding the release of all prisoners and to reach an end to the war under conditions acceptable to Israel.” It is noted that the plan to control Gaza includes forcibly displacing about one million Palestinians to the southern sector, which has led to widespread international criticism of Israel, which continued its preparations to implement the plan despite all warnings. The area suffers from unprecedented levels of hunger, with UN organizations warning of widespread famine and rising death tolls due to malnutrition, especially among children, the sick, and people with disabilities. From October 7, 2023, to August 21, 2025, the war on Gaza resulted in the death of about 62,000 Palestinians and approximately 157,000 injuries, according to data from the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza.