Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz were called to appear before the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee after tens of thousands of IDF reserve troops were called up for duty once again at the same time as the government is promoting a draft bill that would exempt ultra-Orthodox men from service.
Committee chair Yuli Edelstein, a senior member of Netanyahu's ruling Likud Party, summoned the two after the security cabinet voted unanimously to expand the offensive in Gaza to continue fighting against Hamas. A senior political official said the plan includes a military occupation of areas in the Strip, removal of the civilian population to the south to keep them safe, and preventing Hamas from controlling humanitarian aid distribution.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and head of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Yuli Edelstein
(Photo: Knesset Spokesperson)
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Reserve troops on 4th round of service in Gaza since the start of the war
(Photo: IDF)
IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir told ministers during the seven-hour-long meeting on Sunday that the military's aim was to defeat Hamas while working to return the remaining 59 hostages still held in Gaza since the October 7 massacre.
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According to the official, Netanyahu said the plan accepted by the cabinet is good because it could achieve two objectives: defeating Hamas and returning the hostages.
"We are transitioning from a method of raids into Gaza to an occupation of territory there that would remain under the IDF control," Netanyahu said adding that he is still trying to advance the plan proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump to remove Palestinians from Gaza. "There are discussions underway with several countries," he told the ministers.