Katz meets with IDF brass to approve military’s plans for takeover of Gaza City

Defense Minister Israel Katz is meeting with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, other senior officers, and Shin Bet representatives to approve the military’s plans for the capture of Gaza City, his office says.

The meeting and the presentation of the army’s plans to Katz come despite Hamas saying yesterday that it had agreed to a ceasefire proposal. Should a hostage-ceasefire deal be reached, the plans to capture Gaza City are likely to be called off.

According to Israeli officials, the IDF’s plans to capture Gaza City involve first the establishment of humanitarian infrastructure in southern Gaza, including allowing tents and shelter equipment into the Strip in recent days.

The IDF will then issue evacuation warnings for the estimated one million Palestinians residing in Gaza City. Israeli officials have said that Palestinians will have until October 7, 2025, to evacuate Gaza City, which coincides with the second anniversary of Hamas’s attack on Israel.

Afterward, the IDF will then launch its ground offensive into Gaza City, including by placing a siege on the area to kill any remaining Hamas operatives.

The military is set to call up tens of thousands of reservists in the coming days ahead of the operation, though it is unclear how many of them would be deployed to Gaza, as military officials say many reservists will be swapping out standing army troops on other fronts.