A Palestinian woman carries an aid bag in Khan Younis. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has outlined his ‘next day’ plan for Gaza: disarming Hamas, recovering Israeli captives, disarming the sector, securing control, establishing a local administration independent of Hamas or the Palestinian Authority, and eventually handing over the area to Arab forces. Netanyahu’s plan appears to respond to a joint declaration by the Arab League and the European Union emphasizing the central role of the Palestinian Authority and calling on Hamas to surrender its weapons to the Authority with international support, aligned with the goal of establishing an independent sovereign Palestinian state. Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdel Ati recently stated that Egypt is open to the idea of an Arab peacekeeping force in Gaza, provided it is part of a political process leading to a Palestinian state, not as a result of military actions.

Practically, the Israeli plan requires calling up tens of thousands of reservists, allocating over six billion dollars to fund military operations, and issuing evacuation orders for about 800,000 Palestinians from Gaza City alone. Moreover, the plan lacks the support of Chief of Staff General Eyal Zamir, who warned that implementing it not only threatens the fate of 20 Israeli captives still alive but also leads into ‘the trap set by Hamas.’ The Israeli army faces multiple challenges, including declining reservist turnout over 22 months, ammunition shortages, and increased soldier suicides after Gaza service. Diplomatically, 148 of 250 Israeli captives taken to Gaza on October 7, 2023, have been released alive through diplomacy, compared to only 8 recovered by special military operations. Netanyahu has repeatedly promised new operations to force Hamas to release captives, disarm, and leave Gaza, as seen in April 2024 and March 2024 after a two-month truce.

Facing this strategic dilemma, Netanyahu resorted to starvation tactics, which backfired after horrifying images of starving children and elderly circulated, prompting Western and pro-Israel countries to recognize the State of Palestine in autumn. Even Germany, usually hesitant due to its Nazi past, imposed an arms embargo on weapons that could be used in the Gaza attack. Subsequently, foreign ministers of Italy, Australia, Germany, New Zealand, and the UK criticized the Gaza takeover plan, as did Russia and China.