The UAE has strongly condemned on Friday the Israeli government's decision to occupy the Gaza Strip , warning of its catastrophic consequences.

In a statement by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Mofa), the country also stressed its outright rejection of any infringement on the inalienable rights of the Palestinians or attempts to displace them.

It called for "urgent steps to prevent further escalation in the occupied Palestinian territories, avert dragging the region into new levels of violence, tension, and instability, and to take immediate action to ensure the protection of civilians".

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In the statement, the UAE also reaffirmed that safeguarding Palestinian rights is no longer a political choice but a moral, humanitarian, and legal necessity.

Highlighting the UAE's longstanding, steadfast position on safeguarding the rights of the Palestinian people, the UAE stressed that there can be no stability in the region without a two-state solution.

The Israel's security cabinet has approved a plan to take control of Gaza City to further expand Israel's military offensive in the Palestinian enclave devastated by nearly a two-year Israeli assault. The plan drew strong criticism at home and abroad on Friday.

The plan was met with strong global backlash, with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres saying that it marked "a dangerous escalation" that will result in forced displacement of Palestinians.

In comments published on Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told German Chancellor Friedrich Merz that Israel's goal is not to take over Gaza , but to free Gaza from Hamas and enable a peaceful government to be established there, the prime minister's office said on X.

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