Israel’s security cabinet has approved plans to take over Gaza City, which would significantly expand Israeli military operations in the Palestinian enclave. Under the plan, Israel will force all Palestinian civilians from Gaza City into displacement camps further south.

This comes after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Fox News that he intends to take over all of Gaza. Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid blasted the plan, calling it a “disaster.” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the decision “wrong,” adding, “It will only lead to more bloodshed.” Germany said that it would suspend some arms exports to Israel until further notice. Meanwhile, U.N. human rights chief Volker Türk said that Israel’s complete takeover of Gaza should be “immediately halted.” Palestinians in Gaza reacted to Netanyahu’s takeover plans.

Mahmoud al-Qurashli: “Netanyahu’s decision to occupy Gaza — it’s like there’s nothing left to occupy in the first place. We’re already dying, a hundred thousand deaths every day. Around 100 to 150 people die daily, from starvation, on top of everything else we’re going through. Practically all of Gaza has been squeezed into the western part of Gaza City, and that’s all that’s left, just that, west Gaza City. At this point, for the people, there’s no difference anymore whether he occupies it or not.”

Meanwhile, the Israeli TV station Channel 13 is reporting that Netanyahu deliberately imposed starvation on Gaza, restricting aid to the besieged enclave, as part of a strategy to force Hamas to surrender. Internal government transcripts from March show that Netanyahu repeatedly ignored calls from senior ministers to move to the second phase of the ceasefire agreement to release the Israeli hostages.

Meanwhile, Israelis took to the streets in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem Thursday to protest Netanyahu’s plans to occupy all of Gaza.

Ami Dror: “We are here demanding the end of the war, the immediate return of the hostages, end of the atrocities in Gaza, atrocities about the children in Gaza and atrocities against our own soldiers and against our own hostages. This war is a political war. The only person that benefits from this war is Benjamin Netanyahu, that’s trying to avoid jail.”