Israel's Security Cabinet approves plan to take military control of Gaza City

Israel's security cabinet has approved a plan by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to take control of Gaza City as part of a five-point plan to "disarm" Hamas and end the war in the enclave.

The decision to take control of Gaza city came amid massive anti-government protests across Israel demanding an immediate end to the war in Gaza and ensuring immediate return of the hostages held captive by Hamas for the last 22 months.

"A decisive majority of Security Cabinet ministers believed that the alternative plan that had been submitted to the Security Cabinet would neither achieve the defeat of Hamas nor the return of the hostages," Netanyahu's office said.

It is not immediately clear what the alternative plan was.

The plan cleared by the Security Cabinet featured five principles.

These are: disarming of Hamas, return of all the hostages, the demilitarisation of Gaza, Israeli security control in Gaza and establishment of a civil administration that is neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority.

Netanyahu's office said the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) will prepare for taking control of Gaza City while distributing humanitarian assistance to the civilian population outside the combat zones.

Israel launched the war in Gaza after Hamas attacked the country on October 7, 2023 killing about 1,200 people. Hamas also took 251 people as hostages.

The Israeli military action in Gaza has killed an estimated 60,000 people.

Gaza has been reeling under a massive humanitarian crisis largely due to scarcity of food and medicines. The World Health Organisation said last month that Gaza's malnutrition rates have reached "alarming levels".

Ahead of the Security Cabinet meeting, Netanyahu told a group of visiting Indian journalists that Israel doesn't want to annex or occupy Gaza and its sole aim is to destroy Hamas and hand over the strip to a transitional government.

The prime minister also said that Israel wants to take control of Gaza's security.

Asked about the food crisis in Gaza, Netanyahu said over two million tonnes of food were sent to Israel, but the supplies were "interdicted".

"Our plan is not to occupy or annex Gaza. Our goal is to destroy Hamas and get our hostages back, and then handover Gaza to a transitory government," Netanyahu said.