Al Sharqiya

GAZA -Al Sharqiya, August 8: Israel's security cabinet approved a plan to take control of Gaza City on Friday morning, hours after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel intends to take military control of the entire Gaza Strip. Netanyahu's office said in a statement that the Israeli military will prepare to take control of Gaza City while providing humanitarian aid to civilians outside combat zones. The statement added that the vast majority of cabinet members believe that the alternative plan presented to the cabinet will not achieve the goal of defeating Hamas or returning the hostages. Netanyahu told Fox News on Thursday that he intends to take control of the entire Strip and then hand it over to Arab forces to control it. Two Israeli government sources said that any decision by the security cabinet would need the approval of the full cabinet, which may not meet until Sunday. One of the sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that one of the scenarios under consideration is the gradual takeover of areas in Gaza that have not previously been under military control. Palestinians in specific areas of Gaza could be issued evacuation warnings, which could give them several weeks before the army enters. Axios quoted an Israeli official as saying that the plan includes evacuating Palestinian civilians from Gaza City and launching a ground attack there.