TEL AVIV, August 8. /TASS/. Israel’s military-political cabinet approved Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to take the entire Gaza City under control and broaden the operation in the Palestinian enclave, the state-run Kan broadcaster reported citing a statement by the premier’s office.

According to the report, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will prepare for an operation in Gaza, simultaneously providing humanitarian assistance to civilians outside the zone of military action.

Kan said Chief of General Staff Eyal Zamir opposed the plan, pointing to possible risks for hostages, depletion of military reserves and damage to international legitimacy of the state. However, the majority of ministers agreed that other alternatives will not allow "defeating Hamas or ensuring the return of hostages."

The premier’s adviser, Dmitry Gendelman, in turn, reported that the cabinet had approved "five principles for ending the war."

"By the majority of votes, the president has approved the five principles for ending the war: disarmament of Hamas; the return of all hostages, living and dead; demilitarization of the Gaza Strip; Israeli security control in the Gaza Strip; forming an alternative civil administration not linked to Hamas or the PNA (Palestinian National Authority)," he said on Telegram.

Tensions intensified again in the Middle East on October 7, 2023, when militants from the Gaza Strip-based radical Palestinian movement Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing residents of border settlements and taking hostages. In response, Israel initiated a military operation in the Palestinian enclave to dismantle Hamas' military and political structures and free all hostages.

In March, the Israeli military resumed military operations in Gaza, carrying out intensive strikes on the enclave, thus breaking the ceasefire deal that had been reached in January. The Palestinian movement Hamas and Israel failed to make a ceasefire agreement in several rounds of talks brokered by Qatar, Egypt and the US.