Netanyahu to propose complete Gaza rerun, Israeli media report

“Zar has been thrown. We will go for the full invasion of the Gaza Belt and defeat Hamas”, local journalists quoted a senior official as saying, writes BBC, broadcast Periscope.

Responding to reports that the army chief and other military leaders oppose the plan, the unidentified official said: “if this does not work for the chief of staff, he should resign”.

Hostage families fear such plans could endanger loved ones, with 20 out of 50 believed to be alive in Gaza, while polls suggest three out of four Israelis favour a ceasefire agreement to return them.

Many of Israel's close allies would also condemn such an act, while they push ahead to end the war and take action to alleviate the humanitarian crisis.

Within Israel, hundreds of retired Israeli security officials, including former heads of intelligence agencies, sent a joint letter to US President Donald Trump on Monday, urging him to pressure Netanyah to end the war.

One of the signatories, former head of the local intelligence agency Ami Ayalon, told the BBC that further military actions would be in vain.

“From a military point of view, [Hamas] has been completely destroyed. On the other hand, as ideology is gaining more and more power among the Palestinian people, within the Arab roads around us and also in the world of Islam.

So the only way to defeat Hamas' ideology is to present a better future. ”

Recent developments come after indirect talks with Hamas on a ceasefire and a hostage deal were broken down, and Palestinian armed groups published three videos of two Israeli hostages who seemed weak and weakened.

Images of Rome Blaslavski and Evyatar David, both kidnapped by the Nova Festival on October 7th 2023, have shocked and terrified the Israelites. David is shown digging what he calls his grave in an underground tunnel.

There have been some speculation that recent media reports are a tactic of pressure to force Hamas into a new deal.

The Israeli Army says it already has operational control of Gaza's 75%. But under the proposed plan, it would invade the entire territory by moving to areas where more than two million Palestinians are now concentrated.

It is not clear what this meant for civilians and for UN operations and other aid groups. About 90% of Gaza's 2.1 million residents have been displaced, some repeatedly, and live in crowded and miserable conditions. Humanitarian groups and UN officials say many of them are starving, accusing Israel of obstructing the distribution of substantial aid.

The Israeli Army has previously withdrawn from several areas, including parts of central Gaza, due to the assumption that living hostages are held there. Last year, six Israelite hostages were executed by their kidnappers after land forces entered.

There has been no official response, but officials of the Palestinian Authority, which rules parts of the occupied West Coast, denounced the Israeli proposal, calling on the international community to intervene to prevent any new military invasion.