Image source, Reuters

The leader of the opposition in Israel says the security cabinet's decision to take over Gaza City is "a disaster" that will "lead to many more disasters".

Yair Lapid says a takeover of Gaza City would lead to the deaths of the remaining hostages and the killing of many Israeli soldiers.

The plan is "in complete opposition to the opinion of the military and security ranks", he adds. As we reported earlier, the army's chief of staff Lt Gen Eyal Zamir had warned against the move.

He accuses Netanyahu of bowing to pressure from far-right security cabinet ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich. As a reminder, the Israeli prime minister's coalition relies on the support of ultranationalist ministers who have threatened to quit the government if there is any deal with Hamas.

Yvette Tan
Live editor

Image source, Getty Images

It's around 08:30 in Jerusalem and 06:30 in London. Overnight, we have been keeping track of developments in Israel, where the country's security cabinet has approved Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plan to occupy Gaza City.

If you're just joining us now, here's what you need to know:

• Israel's security cabinet approved the takeover of Gaza City by a majority vote

• It marks an escalation of the almost two-year war and would likely be the first phase of a full takeover of Gaza by the military, our Middle East correspondent Hugo Bachega says

• Netanyahu had earlier said he wanted to take over all of the Gaza Strip but the approved plan focuses specifically on Gaza City, the largest city in the enclave
• The plan has raised warnings from the army leadership, opposition from hostage families and concerns that more Palestinians will be killed. It also risks isolating Israel even further internationally

• The UN has previously warned that Israel expanding military operations risks "catastrophic consequences" for Palestinian civilians and Israeli hostages

Stay with us as we bring you the latest updates.

Doron Kempel, former deputy commander of IDF special operations unit Sayeret Matkal, explained to the BBC's Newsday earlier about what expanding military operations in Gaza could look like.

He said that Israel's military would want their own forces to suffer as few casualties as possible, which could mean moving slowly through the territory, and that they would likely ask civilians to leave the area in order to hurt as few people as possible.

"I think this move is bad news in the short term for everybody in the field… IDF combatants, hostages, Palestinians and Hamas," he said.

"Everybody is going to be in this meat grinder, and it’s going to be terribly tragic for everyone involved in the short term."

As we reported earlier, the families of hostages have condemned plans to take over Gaza City as they say it will put the lives of their loved ones at risk.

There are 50 hostages still being held in Gaza, 20 of whom are believed to be alive.

The hostages are among the 251 people who were taken during a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, where about 1,200 people were killed.

About a week ago, Hamas released video of Israeli hostage Evyatar David, who was abducted from the Nova music festival. The video showed him in an emaciated state, with his brother saying he was a "human skeleton".

Families and supporters of the hostages have long called for an immediate end to the war in Gaza and the return of all remaining hostages.

Israel's plans to take over Gaza City has drawn strong condemnation from the families of hostages still being held in the territory.

Earlier, families and supporters of the hostages protested in Tel Aviv and outside Benjamin Netanyahu's office in Jerusalem as the security cabinet discussed the plans.

Some demonstrators chained themselves to each other and warned the move would be a "death sentence" of their loved ones.

The families continue to demand an immediate end to the war and for the return of all remaining hostages in Gaza.

Earlier Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to Fox News about his plans.

"We intend to, in order to ensure our security, remove Hamas there, enable the population to be free of Gaza and to pass it to civilian governance - that is not Hamas and not anyone advocating the destruction of Israel", he said.

"We want to liberate ourselves and liberate the people of Gaza from the awful terror of Hamas," he continued. But Netanyahu also says Israel does "not want to keep it".

"We want to have a security perimeter. We don't want to govern it. We don't want to be there as a governing body," he added.

Image source, Reuters

"It's like there's nothing left to occupy in the first place," Palestinian Mahmoud al-Qurashli tells Reuters news agency from Gaza City.

Reacting to Netanyahu's plans for full control of the region, he says: "Practically all of Gaza has been squeezed into the western part of Gaza City, and that’s all that’s left. At this point, for the people, there’s no difference anymore - whether he occupies it or not."

Raed Abu Mohammed says that they have been living in tents for five months, and they have begun to settle a bit: "Yes, there’s suffering, yes, there’s death - yes. But we’re still clinging to life, clinging to life. Israel isn’t killing Hamas. Israel is killing civilians, children, women."

"There are no means of survival, no signs of life," Ismail al-Shawish says.

He says the basic necessities don't exist, and things in Gaza are "going from bad to worse".

He wants a ceasefire, not occupation, for "peace and safety".