'Horrifying Escalation': Global Outcry as Israeli Cabinet Approves Military Takeover of Gaza City

Foreign ministers from countries around the world, the United Nations' human rights chief, the families of Israeli hostages, and aid organizations were among those condemning the Israeli security cabinet's approval of a plan early Friday for a full military takeover of Gaza City, a move seen as the opening salvo in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's push for total occupation of the besieged Palestinian enclave.

Netanyahu's office said in a statement that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), which already controls much of the Gaza Strip, "will prepare for taking control of Gaza City while distributing humanitarian assistance to the civilian population outside the combat zones."

Since the Hamas-led attack of October 7, 2023, the Israeli government has systematically obstructed humanitarian aid distribution in Gaza, sparking a growing starvation crisis. The World Health Organization said Thursday that around 12,000 children under the age of five in the strip are suffering from acute malnutrition—a crisis that Israel's newly approved ground operation in Gaza City is likely to worsen.

The Associated Press noted that Gaza City "is one of the few areas in Gaza that hasn’t been turned into an Israeli buffer zone or placed under evacuation orders." An Israeli ground operation in the city "could displace tens of thousands of people and further disrupt efforts to deliver food to the hunger-stricken territory," the outlet added.

Hannah Bond, co-CEO of ActionAid U.K., in a statement on Friday that "this horrifying escalation will forcibly displace hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who are already experiencing starvation and have nowhere else to flee, and will inevitably result in even more bloodshed."

"The U.K. government has condemned this decision," Bond added, "but it should know by now that words are not enough to stop the Israeli authorities from pursuing a course of destruction."

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Israel's plan for Gaza City "will do nothing to bring an end to this conflict or to help secure the release of the hostages."

"It will only bring more bloodshed," he warned.

"Australia calls on Israel to not go down this path, which will only worsen the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza."

Starmer was among many world leaders who spoke out in the wake of the Israeli security cabinet vote, with the foreign ministers of Australia, the Netherlands, Scotland, China, Turkey, and other nations decrying the impending operation as a disaster that could crush any remaining hope of a deal to end the military assault.

"Australia calls on Israel to not go down this path, which will only worsen the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza," said Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong. "Permanent forced displacement is a violation of international law."

Citing Israel's continued expansion of military operations in Gaza, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Friday that his government wouldn't authorize any exports of military equipment that could be used in Gaza "until further notice."

"The even harsher military action by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip, approved by the Israeli cabinet last night, makes it increasingly difficult for the German government to see how these goals will be achieved," said Merz, referring to a cease-fire and the release of Israeli hostages.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents the families of Israeli hostages held in Gaza, issued a scathing statement in response to the cabinet vote, saying the Israeli government has "sentenced the living hostages to death and the fallen hostages to disappearance."

"The cabinet decision to launch the process of occupying the strip," the group added, "is an official declaration of the abandonment of the hostages, while completely ignoring the repeated warnings by the military echelon and the clear desire of most of the public in Israel."

Hamas, which governs Gaza, called Israel's plan to "occupy Gaza City and forcibly evacuate its residents" a "new war crime that the occupation army is preparing to commit against the city and its nearly one million inhabitants."

One voice that was conspicuously absent from the global outrage over Friday's cabinet vote was that of the U.S. government under President Donald Trump, who reportedly does not oppose Netanyahu's plan for full occupation of the Gaza Strip. The U.S. is Israel's top ally and leading supplier of weaponry that has been used extensively to massacre civilians in Gaza.

Citing unnamed sources, Axios reported earlier this week that Trump "has decided not to intervene and to let the Israeli government make its own decisions."

Volker Türk, the U.N. human rights chief, said that the Netanyahu government's expansion of its war on Gaza "must be immediately halted," noting that it "runs contrary to the ruling of the International Court of Justice that Israel must bring its occupation to an end as soon as possible."

"On all evidence to date, this further escalation will result in more massive forced displacement, more killing, more unbearable suffering, senseless destruction, and atrocity crimes," said Türk. "Instead of intensifying this war, the Israeli government should put all its efforts into saving the lives of Gaza's civilians by allowing the full, unfettered flow of humanitarian aid."