STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Israel's cabinet has voted to expand the war in Gaza. The move also gives some hints as to what the government envisions for after the war.
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
The plan is for Israeli forces to take over Gaza City. That is the territory's principal city, or at least it was before the war forced most people out of their homes. So what would happen after that takeover is complete?
INSKEEP: NPR's Emily Feng is covering this from Tel Aviv. Hi there, Emily.
EMILY FENG, BYLINE: Hey, good morning.
INSKEEP: OK, first things first, what is the next step that they have announced?
FENG: What we know is from a short statement from the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It was released early this morning after a very long cabinet meeting that began at 6 p.m. the night before our time. And this statement was the one that announced Israel's military would take control of Gaza City. They said the aim of this plan was to disarm Hamas, get back hostages and establish what Israel is calling security control of Gaza before ending a war. Netanyahu's office did not use the word occupy or annex Gaza, but keep in mind, about 90% of land there has already been conquered by Israel or it's in zones off limits to Palestinians.
But there's a lot of questions that are unanswered. Netanyahu said in an interview with Fox that aired yesterday before this cabinet meeting that Israel intends to take over the entirety of Gaza but not keep it. So this cabinet decision said the objective of their plan was some kind of civil administration that is neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority, but it's not clear what that's going to be, and at what point Israel decides to hand control over.
INSKEEP: OK, a lot of knowns, a lot of unknowns. Are Israelis supporting this decision to expand the war?
FENG: Public opinion is split, and many people want the war to end. A poll of Israelis out this week found 54% of them want some kind of ceasefire to get hostages back, even if that means Hamas remains in power. And there have been dozens of growing protests across the country these past weeks against continuing the war. Then this morning, the political opposition leader Yair Lapid said this cabinet decision was a, quote, "disaster" and leading Israel into a futile occupation.
Interestingly, some of the most forceful opposition has come from the military, including hundreds of former senior officials and directors of Israel's security establishment. But right-wing Israelis support the war's expansion, so this has really divided people. Former peace negotiator Menachem Klein told me he fears this war with Hamas is going to grind on and fracture Israel in the process.
MENACHEM KLEIN: There is no way that the Israeli army can win over a guerrilla force in its own territory.
FENG: And Klein fears this new expanded campaign is going to sacrifice more Israeli soldiers' lives for a territory he believes Israel cannot hold.
INSKEEP: Interesting to hear from the former military officials, since it's sometimes presumed that people who are outside the military, have left the military, speak for some people who are on the inside. But what does this mean for people living in Gaza?
FENG: People there have been squeezed into this sliver that runs down Gaza's western side along the Mediterranean coast. That includes Gaza City. So if Israel expands operations there, whether through airstrikes or ground offenses, it's very dangerous for people sheltering there. NPR's producer in Gaza, Anas Baba, is himself in Gaza City. He's been speaking to people there, and one of them is 38-year-old Mahmoud Abdel Salam Ahmed. He says he's preparing to pack his tent and getting ready to flee again.
MAHMOUD ABDEL SALAM AHMED: (Non-English language spoken).
FENG: He says this is the worst news he's heard since the start of the war, that he was shocked by the cabinet decision, and none of them were prepared for an escalation like this. Netanyahu's office said aid is going to be distributed to civilians outside of combat zones, but he didn't elaborate what that means, given most of Gaza is a combat zone. And already more than 61,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. People are dying every day from starvation and malnutrition, and a third of the people dead so far are children.
INSKEEP: NPR's Emily Feng is in Tel Aviv. Emily, thanks so much.
FENG: Thanks, Steve. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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