The latest news on the Israel-Gaza conflict. Israel's security cabinet has approved a move that will see the country's Defence Forces moving and looking to take control of Gaza City.
As per Reuters, this move was made clear in the early hours of Friday, August 8, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office released a statement that claimed the "IDF will prepare to take control of Gaza City while providing humanitarian aid to the civilian population outside the combat zones."
This also comes as Netanyahu also made claims on Thursday to take complete military control of the Gaza Strip, something that has seemingly been scaled back for the moment to focus on Gaza City first and foremost.
As part of this move, Israel has laid out five steps it intends to end the "war", with the steps outlined as follows:
Disarmament of Hamas
Returning of all hostages, both living and dead
Demilitarisation of the Gaza Strip
Israel military control over the Gaza Strip
The creation of an alternative government that is not Hamas or the Palestinian Authority
This plan has already raised opposition in Israel from hostage families and even army leadership, who share fears for more innocent Palestinian casualties, and even risks of further causing a divide on a global scale. Opposition parties in the country also go as far as to call the plan "a disaster" that will only "lead to many more disasters", with BBC News reporting that Netanyahu is currently conceding to pressure from far-right security cabinet ministers.