West Jerusalem has approved a plan to seize the enclave's capital, sparking widespread condemnation over its potential consequences

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his security cabinet approved a new five-point plan on Friday, dedicated to "concluding the war" with the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza, which has been dragging on for nearly two years.

The plan involves the capture of Gaza City in the north of the Strip, one of the few areas of the Palestinian enclave that the IDF does not control. The city will be put under Israeli security control, while its governance will be handed over to unspecified "Arab forces," according to the scheme.

The announcement has drawn widespread international condemnation over the potential implications of the looming attack on the densely populated area, as well as prompted domestic criticism from the Israeli opposition and mass protests. 

UN 'gravely alarmed' by Israeli move

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has strongly condemned the plan, warning it was bound to further aggravate humanitarian concerns in the enclave while risking fatal consequences for Israeli hostages who remain in the hands of Hamas. 

"This decision marks a dangerous escalation and risks deepening the already catastrophic consequences for millions of Palestinians," the office of Guterres said in a statement, adding that  such a push will only lead to "additional forced displacement, killings, and massive destruction."

A similar reaction was issued by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk, who urged West Jerusalem to drop the scheme immediately. "The Israeli government's plan for a complete military takeover of the occupied Gaza Strip must be immediately halted," he said in a statement.

Palestinian factions united against occupation plan

All the major Palestinian factions have condemned the Israeli announcement. Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, which governs parts of the occupied West Bank, has branded it a "complete crime," meaning the continuation of "genocide, systematic killing, starvation, and siege," paving the way for an "unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe."

Hamas, which has been the de facto authority of Gaza since 2007, warned the move would seal the fate of the surviving Israeli hostages and amounts to "sacrificing" them. "The decision to occupy Gaza confirms that the criminal Netanyahu and his Nazi government do not care about the fate of their captives," the group said in a statement. 

Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a major militant faction and a longtime rival of Hamas, said the occupation plan marks "a new chapter in the war of extermination." The group demanded that the Arab nations and the West curb the looming escalation.

West urges 'restraint'

Multiple Western nations, save for the US, have condemned the plan to occupy Gaza City and urged Israel to reconsider it. While Washington effectively gave no reaction to the announcement, earlier in the week, US President Donald Trump said it was "pretty much up to Israel" whether to fully occupy the enclave.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen urged Israel to "reconsider" the move, while EU Council head Antonio Costa said the decision "must have consequences for EU-Israel relations."

Multiple individual members of the bloc have condemned the Israeli announcement as well. For instance, Germany, arguably the second most important strategic ally of Israel after the US, has vowed to restrict its military cooperation with the country. 

"Under these circumstances, the German government will not authorize any exports of military equipment that could be used in the Gaza Strip until further notice," German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said. 

Occupation plan faces domestic backlash 

The announcement rocked the Israeli political landscape, with multiple opponents of Netanyahu scrambling to attack the prime minister and his plan.

Yair Lapid, opposition leader and the head of the centrist Yesh Atid party, accused Netanyahu of caving in to pressure from far-right cabinet ministers and branded the move a "disaster that will lead to many more disasters." 

"This is exactly what Hamas wanted: for Israel to be trapped in the territory without a goal, without defining the picture of the day after, in a pointless occupation that no one understands where it is leading," Lapid said.

The stance was echoed by Democrats Party chair Yair Golan, who said the move was bound to become a "disaster for generations." The decision was taken contrary to IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir's opinion and amounts to a "death sentence for the hostages." 

The cabinet's decision also reignited protests spearheaded by the relatives of the Israeli hostages, who remain in Hamas' custody. The demonstrators urged the government to wrap up the hostilities instead of widening the military operation and to secure the release of the surviving captives and the return of the bodies of the deceased through diplomacy.