Israel’s army chief, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, told ministers that fully occupying the Gaza Strip would require mobilizing about 200,000 reservists, Israel’s public broadcaster KAN reported.
His assessment came during a 10-hour cabinet meeting on Thursday, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented a “gradual plan” to seize full control of Gaza. The plan was approved early Friday, despite misgivings from senior military officials about risks to hostages and troops, Israeli media said.
Citing unnamed sources, KAN reported that Zamir warned the operation would demand vast logistics and humanitarian capacity the army does not currently have. “There is no civilian infrastructure or humanitarian capacity in place to relocate the population,” he was quoted as saying. “We would need to establish hospitals and deliver aid ourselves.”
In exchanges reported from the meeting, Zamir suggested removing hostage recovery from the war’s official goals if aid deliveries and field hospitals were blocked—remarks highlighting deepening rifts within Israel’s leadership. When National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir opposed aid or building hospitals, Zamir replied: “Then I suggest removing hostage recovery from the war goals.”
According to Israeli media, the approved plan foresees advances into central Gaza and remaining areas of Gaza City, beginning with the forced displacement of civilians southward, followed by encirclement and deeper incursions into residential districts. A statement from Netanyahu’s office said the army is preparing to “complete its control over the Gaza Strip.”
Since October 2023, more than 61,200 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to the enclave’s Health Ministry, as the war has devastated infrastructure and pushed the territory toward famine. In November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on war crimes and crimes against humanity, while Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice.