Israel may seize all of Gaza in expanded operation, officials say

Israel may seize the Gaza Strip and control aid in an expanded offensive against Palestinian militant group Hamas that was approved by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's security cabinet on Monday, officials said.

An Israeli defense official said it would not be launched before U.S. President Donald Trump concludes his visit next week to the Middle East.

The decision, after weeks of faltering efforts to reach a ceasefire with Hamas, underlines the threat that a war heaping international pressure on Israel amid dwindling public support at home could continue with no end in sight.

A government spokesman told journalists online that reserve soldiers were being called up to expand operations in Gaza, not to occupy it.

A report by Israel's public broadcaster Kan, citing officials with knowledge of the details, said the new plan was gradual and would take months, with forces focusing first on one area of the battered enclave.

Israeli troops have already taken over an area amounting to around a third of the Gaza Strip, displacing the population and building watchtowers and surveillance posts on cleared ground the military has described as security zones, but the new plan would go further.

One Israeli government official said the newly approved offensive would seize the entire territory of the Gaza Strip, move its civilian population southward and keep humanitarian aid from falling into Hamas hands.

The defense official said aid distribution, which has been handled by international aid groups and UN organizations, would be transferred to private companies and handed out in the southern area of Rafah once the offensive begins.

The Israeli military, which throughout the war has shown little appetite for occupying Gaza, declined to comment on the remarks by government officials and politicians.

Israel resumed its offensive in March after the collapse of a U.S.-backed ceasefire that had halted fighting for two months. It has since imposed a blockade of aid into the enclave, drawing warnings from the United Nations and international organizations that the 2.3 million population faces imminent famine.

The Israeli defense official said that Israel would hold on to security zones seized along the Gaza perimeter because they were vital for protecting Israeli communities around the enclave.

But he said there was a "window of opportunity" for a ceasefire and hostage release deal during a visit by Trump to the region next week.

"If there is no hostage deal, Operation Gideon Chariots will begin with great intensity and will not stop until all its goals are achieved," he said.

Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi rejected what he called "pressure and blackmail."

"No deal except a comprehensive one, which includes a complete ceasefire, full withdrawal from Gaza, reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, and the release of all prisoners from both sides," he said.