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Saturday, January 10, 2026
Israel planning new Gaza City offensive in March, but will need green-light from Trump — officials
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleJacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief
The IDF has drawn up plans to launch renewed intensive military operations in Gaza in March, with an offensive targeting Gaza City aimed at pushing the Yellow Line ceasefire demarcation west toward the coast of the enclave, further expanding the IDF’s control of the territory, an Israeli official and an Arab diplomat told The Times of Israel.
The Arab diplomat says that the operation won’t be able to go forward without the support of the US, which is still trying to advance the fragile ceasefire reached in October 2025 to a second phase that includes Hamas’s disarmament.
While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed during his meeting with Trump last month to cooperate with efforts to advance the ceasefire, he does not believe that they will be successful in disarming Hamas and has accordingly directed the IDF to prepare for a contingency plan, the Arab diplomat says.
On the first day of the ceasefire on October 10, Israeli forces pulled back to the Yellow Line, leaving them in control of roughly 53 percent of the Strip. The Gaza City operation planned for March would see Israel build on that percentage, the Israeli official and Arab diplomat say.
Some details of this planned offensive were first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
The Times of Israel Community.