AFTER HOUTHI MISSILE STRIKE ON TEL AVIV AIRPORT, U.S. AND ISRAEL BOMB YEMEN

Israel approved plans on Monday to seize the entire Gaza Strip and to stay in the Palestinian territory for an unspecified amount of time, two Israeli officials said, a move that, if implemented, would vastly expand Israel's operations there and likely draw fierce international opposition.

- Associated Press

TEL AVIV:

The new plan, which was approved in an early morning vote by Israeli Cabinet ministers, also calls for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to move to Gaza's south. That would likely amount to their forcible displacement and exacerbate an already dire humanitarian crisis.

Its approval came hours after the Israeli military chief said the army was calling up tens of thousands of reserve soldiers. The plan may be another measure by Israel to try to pressure Hamas into making concessions in ceasefire negotiations.

A third person, a defense official, said the new plan would not begin until after US President Donald Trump wraps up his expected visit to the Middle East this month, allowing for the possibility that Israel might agree to a ceasefire in the meantime.

Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005 after a decades-long occupation and then imposed a blockade on the territory along with Egypt.