JERUSALEM/ISTANBUL 

Israel’s Security Cabinet is edging closer to approving a decision to occupy the Gaza Strip, with ministers pointing to what they described as Hamas’ “inflexible stance,” local media said on Monday.

The daily Israel Hayom said some cabinet members believe the likelihood of a full-scale occupation has increased, claiming Hamas’ position is steering Israel toward an “all-out war plan.”

There was no official Israeli confirmation of the claim.

According to the newspaper, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich convened a closed-door meeting with his far-right Religious Zionism Party on Monday to discuss Israel’s recent steps concerning humanitarian aid for Gaza.

On Sunday, the Israeli army said it had allowed limited airdrops of aid into Gaza and declared what it called a “tactical pause” in certain areas to permit aid deliveries.

International organizations dismissed the move as a “smokescreen,” accusing Israel of continuing to weaponize hunger by keeping Gaza’s crossings shut since March.

Despite earlier threats to resign over aid deliveries, Smotrich told Yedioth Ahronoth on Monday that he would remain in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.

On Sunday, senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya said the group had shown “the utmost flexibility” throughout 22 months of the Israeli war, accusing Israel of derailing the latest Doha negotiations under US pressure to “waste time and drain Gaza.”

He said Israel insists on seizing a large part of Rafah in southern Gaza to set up a displacement zone, paving the way for the forced transfer of Palestinians.

Al-Hayya added that Israel also insists on controlling the aid mechanism, which he said had turned into “death traps” that killed and injured thousands of Palestinians.

The Gaza Health Ministry reported Monday that 1,175 people have been killed and 7,758 injured while waiting for aid since May 27.

On Monday, the ministry said 14 more Palestinians, including two children, had died in the past 24 hours from hunger and malnutrition, raising the total to 147 deaths since Oct. 7, including 88 children.

UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher warned Monday that one in three Palestinians in Gaza had not eaten for days, urging the immediate and unimpeded delivery of aid.

Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive on Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, killing nearly 60,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children. The relentless bombardment has destroyed the enclave and led to food shortages.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.