{"id":120936,"date":"2025-05-05T17:05:51","date_gmt":"2025-05-05T15:05:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=120936"},"modified":"2025-05-05T15:23:08","modified_gmt":"2025-05-05T13:23:08","slug":"05-05-112","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=120936","title":{"rendered":"Israeli Security Cabinet approves expanding war against Hamas in Gaza"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>Israeli Security Cabinet approves expanding war against Hamas in Gaza<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n

JNS Staff<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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“We are increasing the pressure with the goal of bringing our [captive] people back and defeating Hamas,” said IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir.<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n

Israeli troops participate in a counter-terror operation in the area of the Indonesian Hospital in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza, December 2024. Credit: IDF.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s Security Cabinet voted unanimously on Sunday night to expand the IDF offensive against the Hamas terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip.<\/span><\/p>\n

The approved plans include \u201coccupying Gaza and holding on to the territory,\u201d as well as \u201cpowerful strikes\u201d on Hamas, a source in the Prime Minister\u2019s Office told reporters.<\/span><\/p>\n

The ministers also approved plans to possibly resume aid to the coastal enclave through an international fund that would seek to prevent the supplies from being\u00a0looted<\/a>\u00a0by Hamas. Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir was the sole minister to oppose the move.<\/span><\/p>\n

The distribution of aid is expected to be carried out by the American security companies that inspected vehicles returning to Gaza\u2019s north during the January-March ceasefire.<\/span><\/p>\n

An Israeli official quoted by the\u00a0Walla<\/em>\u00a0outlet said that the expanded ground operation will likely only be carried out after U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s expected visit to the Middle East ends next week.<\/span><\/p>\n

Earlier on Sunday, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said that the military was calling up tens of thousands of additional reservists.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis week, we are issuing tens of thousands of call-up orders to our reservists in order to intensify and expand our operation in Gaza,\u201d Zamir told members of the Flotilla 13 naval commando unit. \u201cWe are increasing the pressure with the goal of bringing our people back and defeating Hamas. We will operate in additional areas and destroy all infrastructure above and below ground.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Defense sources noted that the mobilization is one of the largest since the war began 19 months ago, with newly called-up reservists being integrated into training and operational deployments.<\/span><\/p>\n

Zamir spoke as the Security Cabinet convened in Jerusalem to discuss the next phase of the military campaign.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI am assembling the Cabinet today to discuss the next stage of the IDF chief of staff\u2019s proposal,\u201d said Prime Minister\u00a0Benjamin Netanyahu<\/a>. \u201cI cannot detail it here, but we are focusing on two things: returning our hostages and defeating Hamas. Military pressure works\u2014and this is what will work now as well,\u201d he added, noting that 147 hostages have been rescued alive so far.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a separate statement, the IDF confirmed that Israeli forces continue to operate across the Gaza Strip to dismantle terrorist infrastructure and protect Israeli civilians. The 205th \u201cIron Fist\u201d Reserve Armored Brigade is active in Rafah, in Gaza\u2019s southernmost region, where it has destroyed Hamas positions above and below ground and killed dozens of terrorists.<\/span><\/p>\n

The IDF also reported the discovery of a weapons depot located 260 feet from a former school and approximately 330 feet from a former hospital in Rafah.<\/span><\/p>\n

Over the weekend, IDF troops, operating in coordination with the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), carried out extensive operations across the Gaza Strip. In Gaza City, reservists from the Jerusalem Brigade, operating under the\u00a0252nd \u201cSinai\u201d Division, continued to engage Hamas operatives in the Shejaiya neighborhood, dismantling underground infrastructure and seizing weapons caches.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Israeli Air Force attacked more than 100 terrorist targets throughout Gaza, including tunnel shafts, command centers and structures used by armed cells, the military said. Ground forces located and destroyed additional weapons and killed several terrorists.<\/span><\/p>\n

In one such strike, the IDF destroyed armed and launch-ready Hamas rocket platforms in the Khan Yunis area that were aimed at Israeli territory. Explosions observed after the strike indicated the presence of multiple rockets prepared for launch. The military said it would continue acting forcefully and decisively against all terrorist groups in Gaza.<\/span><\/p>\n