The security cabinet has voted to approve a proposal backed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the IDF to conquer Gaza City, the Axios news site reports, citing an Israeli official.
The IDF has avoided entering much of the city since the outbreak of the war.
The operation will likely require the mass evacuation of the area where some 800,000 Gazans currently reside.
It is not immediately clear whether the takeover of Gaza City is part of a broader plan to occupy the entirety of the enclave, which Netanyahu told Fox News on Thursday that Israel intends to do.
Gaza City is part of the 25 percent of the Strip that the IDF has yet to conquer, along with several refugee camps in central Gaza.
Those are areas where Israel believes the remaining hostages are being held, which is why IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir has expressed his opposition to the operation pushed by Netanyahu, fearing it will put those captives at risk.
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