ISTANBUL 

Israel’s Security Cabinet unanimously approved a plan on Monday to expand its ongoing military offensive in the Gaza Strip and occupy territories inside the blockaded enclave.

The plan came two days after the army called up thousands of reservists amid preparations to significantly expand the Israeli offensive against the Palestinian territory.

Code-named “Gideon’s Chariots,” the Israeli plan formalizes intentions to occupy the entire Gaza Strip, forcibly relocate its residents, and control the delivery of humanitarian aid.

The plan, which is expected to be implemented after US President Donald Trump visits the region next week, comes amid a full Israeli blockade on Gaza since March 2, preventing the entry of food, fuel, and medicine despite UN-confirmed reports of famine in northern Gaza.  

Here are the key features of the new Israeli plan:  

• Full military occupation​​​​​​​ 

The Israeli army plans to seize and hold the entirety of Gaza, in what Israeli officials describe as a military “conquest,” signaling an end to the notion of a temporary campaign, according to the public broadcaster KAN.

Unlike previous campaigns, the army will remain in any territory it occupies in order to prevent the return of Palestinian resistance fighters.  

• Mass displacement of civilians 

The plan involves expanding the forced relocation of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from northern Gaza to the south, pushing further into what aid groups call “uninhabitable” zones.

It further includes deploying civilian contractors and delineating a secured area under Israeli military control, notably establishing a so-called “safe zone” in Rafah behind the Morag Axis between Rafah and Khan Younis, where all entrants will be screened by Israeli forces “to prevent the presence of Hamas members.”  

• Foreign-controlled aid mechanism  

The Times of Israel, citing officials, said that the approved plan keeps the Israeli army away from the aid box delivery to individuals in Gaza while providing an outer layer of security for private US contractors and international organizations handing out the aid boxes.

KAN said that aid distribution will be delayed until the onset of ground operations and widespread civilian evacuation from the enclave.  

• Staged offensive over months 

The offensive will unfold in multiple stages, beginning with the expansion of ground operations in selected zones, and gradually moving across the rest of the enclave, KAN reported, adding that “the intense fighting was expected to go on for months.”