The Israeli military said Wednesday it had approved the "framework" for a new offensive in the Gaza Strip, days after the security cabinet called for the seizure of Gaza City.
Armed forces chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir "approved the main framework for the IDF's operational plan in the Gaza Strip," a statement released by the army said.
Prime Benjamin Minister Netanyahu's government has not provided a precise timetable for when Israeli troops will enter the territory's largest city, where thousands have taken refuge after fleeing previous offensives.
Netanyahu reiterated an idea - also enthusiastically floated by US President Donald Trump - that Palestinians should simply leave the enclave housing more than 2 million people after nearly two years of conflict.
"They’re not being pushed out, they’ll be allowed to exit," he told Israeli television channel i24NEWS. "All those who are concerned for the Palestinians and say they want to help the Palestinians should open their gates and stop lecturing us."
Arabs and many world leaders are aghast at the idea of displacing the Gaza population, which Palestinians say would be like another "Nakba" (catastrophe) when hundreds of thousands fled or were forced out during a 1948 war.
Gaza's civil defense agency said Israeli air strikes on Gaza City have intensified in recent days, with the residential neighborhoods of Zeitoun and Sabra hit "with very heavy air strikes targeting civilian homes, possibly including high-rise buildings.”
News of the military's approval of the plan comes hours after Hamas said a senior delegation had arrived in Cairo for "preliminary talks" with Egyptian officials on a temporary truce.
Hamas chief negotiator Khalil Al-Hayya's meetings with Egyptian officials in Cairo were to focus on stopping the war, delivering aid and "ending the suffering of our people in Gaza," Hamas official Taher al-Nono said in a statement.
Egyptian security sources said the talks would also discuss the possibility of a comprehensive ceasefire that would see Hamas relinquish governance in Gaza and concede its weapons.
