Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel intends to take full control of Gaza as his security cabinet holds a crucial meeting to approve the plan. Listen to the Daily podcast – on what full Israeli military occupation would mean for Gaza – as you scroll.
Thursday 7 August 2025 19:28, UK
While we wait for official updates from the security cabinet meeting discussing plans to fully take over Gaza, Israeli media has reported part of the conversation.
According to broadcaster Channel 12, the IDF’s chief of staff Eyal Zamir has warned Benjamin Netanyahu about the hostages still in Gaza.
“The lives of the hostages will be in danger if we embark on a plan to occupy Gaza,” the broadcaster reports him as saying.
“There is no way to guarantee that we will not be harmed by them. Our forces are worn out, the military equipment needs maintenance, and there are humanitarian and sanitary problems.”
Surveys have consistently shown Israelis want to end the war in order to get a hostage deal, according to a political analyst in the country.
Dahlia Scheindlin said the biggest problem is that the public is “exhausted”, with many totally consumed by the fate of the hostages and their loved ones serving in the army.
“There’s increasing talk about what the consequences would actually mean for Israel [with] this full military takeover and how long it might go on, which is a deep conversation that hasn’t really been had before,” she told our chief presenter Mark Austin.
“And so Israelis are, I think, increasingly very concerned as to whether they will have simply the stamina to do it.”
She added that attitude has also been reflected by the IDF chief of staff, who she said has been against the reported plan to fully take over Gaza.
Watch her full insight into how Israelis view the war below…
One of the world’s biggest medical charities has described aid distribution sites in Gaza as a “laboratory of cruelty”.
We caught up with Dr Natalie Roberts, the executive director of Doctors Without Borders UK, who details the charity’s new findings – and says why she thinks full occupation of the territory would amount to a “death sentence” for many Palestinians.
Watch her full remarks below…
Referring to Benjamin Netanyahu’s reported plan for a full occupation of Gaza, Hamas said the prime minister wants to “get rid” of the hostages still held in the territory.
The militant group is believed to still have 50 captives since its October 7 attack on Israel in 2023, during which they killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251.
Over the weekend, videos released by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad showed two emaciated hostages.
But Hamas said Netanyahu’s plan shows he wants to “sacrifice” them to “serve his personal interests”.
They also said Netanyahu’s remarks are a “coup” on the ceasefire negotiations.
We may hear more clarity on Netanyahu’s apparent plan this evening, with his security cabinet meeting now to weigh up the proposal.
He’s been warned against a full military occupation by former Israeli military officials.
But after 22 months of war, that may be exactly what Benjamin Netanyahu wants.
So, what would long-term occupation mean for Gazans, Israel, the Middle East and the world?
What would it be like for those living in Gaza? And will the Israeli hostages be returned?
Niall Paterson is joined on the Sky News Daily by a Palestinian aid worker in Gaza and Professor Yossi Mekelberg, senior consulting fellow for the Middle East and North Africa programme at Chatham House.
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Israel’s war on Gaza has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.
Today, local hospitals said at least 42 have been killed.
Of those, at least 13 were said to be trying to get aid in an Israeli military zone in southern Gaza, where UN aid convoys are regularly overwhelmed by desperate crowds and looters.
Another two were killed on roads leading to nearby sites run by the Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, according to Nasser Hospital.
Neither the GHF nor the Israeli military has commented on the strikes or shootings.
The UN and independent experts view the health ministry’s figures as the most reliable estimate of casualties, while Israel has disputed them without offering its own toll.
While it appears Benjamin Netanyahu is pushing for a full occupation of Gaza, his plan for what happens next is unclear.
One of the glaring questions is: who would govern the territory in the long-term?
Netanyahu’s suggestion for that may not be a serious proposal.
As our international correspondent Diana Magnay explains, the Israeli prime minister doesn’t seem to have a clear plan for the “day after”.
Families of hostages held in Gaza are protesting outside Benjamin Netanyahu’s office as the security cabinet meets to decide the military plan for Gaza.
They’re calling for a deal to end the war and release all the hostages.
Benjamin Netanyahu’s reported plan to press ahead with a full occupation of Gaza has met opposition at home and abroad.
According to a new report in Israel, that may extend to Donald Trump’s administration.
Broadcaster Channel 12 is said to have spoken to a senior US official, who told them Washington does not support any Israeli annexation of the territory.
For his part, Trump said earlier this week it’s “up to Israel” when he was asked about the reported plan.
After Benjamin Netanyahu’s comments – see the post below this one – on taking control of all of Gaza, we should have more clarity soon.
His security cabinet is scheduled to be meeting right now to discuss the plans for full occupation – and to decide whether they approve or reject the proposal.
It’s meant to finish at 6pm UK time, and we will bring you any updates from there as and when we get them.
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