Netanyahu broadly criticized at home and abroad after new Gaza plan

TEL AVIV, Israel — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faced criticism at home and abroad Friday after his office announced that the Israeli military would escalate its nearly 2-year-old campaign in the Gaza Strip by taking control of Gaza City, a move that would likely further endanger Palestinian civilians and Israeli hostages and deepen Israel’s international isolation.

The chorus of condemnation from long-standing European allies, Arab governments and the families of hostages held by militant groups in Gaza reflected Netanyahu’s intensifying clash with foreign nations and the supporters of hostages.

It laid bare Israel’s isolation as its government decides, against the advice of its military’s top command, to expand a war that has reduced cities to rubble, killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and caused a widespread hunger crisis.

“The Israeli government’s decision to further escalate its offensive in Gaza is wrong, and we urge it to reconsider immediately,” Keir Starmer, the prime minister of Britain, said in a statement. “This action will do nothing to bring an end to this conflict or to help secure the release of hostages. It will only bring more bloodshed.”

Chancellor Friedrich Merz of Germany said that, “until further notice,” his country would not export military equipment that could be used in Gaza, a significant step and a break with the country’s postwar past of support for Israel.

In recent weeks, many European countries have urged Israel to end the war in Gaza. The Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which ignited the war, killed about 1,200 people, and about 250 others were taken captive to Gaza.

Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry said the “inhumane ideas and decisions” being adopted by the Israeli government “affirm once again that it does not grasp the emotional, historical and legal connection of the Palestinian people to this land.” The Turkish and Jordanian foreign ministries also condemned the move.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, a group representing many families of hostages, said the Israeli government had issued a “death sentence to the living hostages” and “a disappearance sentence” to the bodies of those killed in captivity.

“There has never been a government in Israel that has acted with such great determination against the national interest,” the group said in a statement. “The security Cabinet chose another march of folly on the backs of the hostages, the fighters and all of Israeli society.”

On Friday, Israel’s security Cabinet approved a plan to expand the war by taking control of Gaza City, a pivotal and risky decision that went against the recommendations of the Israeli military. Before the war, the population of Gaza City was about 700,000 according to Palestinian statistics.

Before the meeting, Netanyahu had told Fox News that Israel intended to take control of Gaza, bucking concerns in the military’s leadership about the exhaustion of reservist soldiers and the burdens of governing millions of Palestinians. The prime minister office’s announcement did not explicitly state that the military would carry out a full takeover of Gaza.

In a statement on X on Friday, Netanyahu reiterated, “We are not going to occupy Gaza — we are going to free Gaza from Hamas.”

The plan envisioned is that the Israeli military will need about a month to prepare for the takeover of Gaza City, including to call up reserves, according to two Israeli security officials who were familiar with the details of the meeting and who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive issues. The military would then need another month to carry out the actual operation, the sources said.

The exact details of the operation, its magnitude and the endgame were still unclear, the officials said.

But Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, chief of staff of the military, has made clear to the Israeli government that he opposes expanding the war, including because it will risk hostages’ lives, the officials added.

On Friday, Hamas said occupying Gaza City and evacuating its residents would be “a new war crime that the occupation’s military intends to perpetrate.”

“We warn the criminal occupation that this criminal adventure will exact a great price,” Hamas said in a statement. “It won’t be a picnic.”

The retired Maj. Gen. Gadi Shamni, one of the last commanders of Israeli forces in Gaza before they withdrew from the territory in 2005, said Netanyahu’s plan was “more of the same.” It would result in the deaths of more soldiers and hostages, further isolate Israel on the international stage, and deepen the rift between the government and the military, he said.

“This won’t bring progress in any way at all,” he said. “This won’t bring back the hostages, and it won’t lead to the defeat of Hamas or make it give up its weapons.”

Since the start of the war, the Israeli military has raided Gaza City several times. But each time, Hamas fighters succeeded in regrouping in neighborhoods where Israeli soldiers had conducted operations.

Shamni said another raid on Gaza City would fail to bring about a fundamental change to Hamas’ power in Gaza or its position in ceasefire negotiations. And if Israel planned to take over the city ahead of a potential long-term occupation of Gaza, he said, it would take years before the military managed to set up a functioning military government and to degrade Hamas enough to stabilize the situation.

“The state of Israel doesn’t even have the resources for such a thing,” he said. “Where will Israel get all of the money for this?”

Many of the people kidnapped Oct. 7 have been freed in exchange for Palestinian prisoners; more than three dozen hostages have been killed in captivity, according to an investigation by The New York Times. The bodies of 30 others, according to Israeli authorities, are being held in Gaza. Up to 20 hostages are believed to still be alive, they said.

“The probability of hostages being killed again is now intensifying,” said Ruby Chen, father of American-Israeli soldier Itay Chen, who was abducted by Hamas in the October attack. Israeli authorities now presume Chen’s son is dead.

The prospect of Israel moving into Gaza City also stoked fears among Palestinians in Gaza, who have been repeatedly displaced and struggle to find food, clean water and electricity.

“There’s frustration and despair,” said Abdullah Shehab, 32, who has been staying at his sister’s home in Gaza City since he was forced to leave his hometown, Jabalia, at the end of May. “I feel like we’re waiting for a new hell to be brought upon us.”

He said when he saw planes parachuting aid into Gaza on Friday, he imagined a rope extending to the ground and climbing on board.

“I’m ready to leave,” he said. “I love Gaza, but I can’t handle the misery anymore.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.