Israel adopts 5 principles for ending the war in Gaza

Israel’s security cabinet early Friday approved a plan to take control of Gaza City, which is meant to help accomplish “the five principles for concluding the war‚” shared by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office.

The five principles released Thursday on a social media post from Netanyahu’s office, are:

• The return of all 50 hostages, 20 of whom are believed to still be alive.
• The disarming of Hamas.
• Israeli security control over the enclave.
• The demilitarization of Gaza.
• The establishment of an alternative civilian administration that is neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority.

On Thursday, Netanyahu said that Israel plans to take over all of Gaza, but the plan approved on Friday stops short of stating that Israel would take full control of Gaza.

The Israeli military “will prepare for taking control of Gaza City while distributing humanitarian assistance to the civilian population outside the combat zones,” Netanyahu’s office said, per NBC News.

Gaza City is the largest city in the enclave and the plan to take it over also includes Israeli forces disarming Hamas, the return of all the hostages and the demilitarization of the whole Gaza Strip and Israeli control of it.

The statement said that the goal of the plan is to achieve a decisive victory over Hamas bringing an end to the war which started on Oct. 7, 2023 after Hamas attacked Israel.

This plan also includes providing humanitarian aid to the civilian population “outside the combat zones,” according to The New York Times.

According to CNN, the deadline for the first phase of operations, including the evacuation of Gaza City and expanding aid distribution, is Oct. 7, the second anniversary of the attack on Israel by Hamas.

The cabinet meeting lasted 10 hours before the plan was approved and a majority of the security cabinet voiced their approval.

According to The New York Times, Israel says it has already conquered around 75% of Gaza.