(MENAFN- Live Mint) Israel's security cabinet has approved a plan proposed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the military to "take control" of Gaza City, his office said on Friday.

"The IDF [Israel Defence Forces] will prepare for taking control of Gaza City while distributing humanitarian assistance to the civilian population outside the combat zones," a statement from the Prime Ministers' Office said.

However, in conversation with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Netanyahu said 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.”

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The Israel Prime Ministers' Office that the Security Cabinet adopted the five principles for concluding the war:

1. The disarming of Hamas

2. The return of all the hostages – the living and the deceased

3. The demilitarisation of the Gaza Strip

4. Israeli security control in the Gaza Strip.

5. The establishment of an alternative civil administration that is neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority.

The prime ministers' office further informed that a decisive majority of Security Cabinet ministers believed that“the alternative plan that had been submitted to the Security Cabinet would neither achieve the defeat of Hamas nor the return of the hostages.”

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Israeli PM Netanyahu clarified that the aim of the proposals was not to occupy the Gaza territory but to eliminate Hamas and establish a peaceful "alternative administration".

He emphasised the need for a lasting security presence and the dismantling of Hamas. "We are not going to occupy Gaza - we are going to free Gaza from Hamas," he said.

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"Gaza will be demilitarized, and a peaceful civilian administration will be established, one that is not the Palestinian Authority, not Hamas, and not any other terrorist organization," Netanyahu said.

"This will help free our hostages and ensure Gaza does not pose a threat to Israel in the future," he added.

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The Israeli PM also told Fox News that the move is aimed at eliminating Hamas and eventually transferring governance to Arab authorities.

"In order to assure our security, remove Hamas there, enable the population to be free of Gaza and to pass it to civilian governance," Netanyahu said.

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Netanyahu's plans come as ceasefire negotiations with Hamas have stalled in recent weeks. US special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff has previously expressed optimism about talks, but progress has since stalled.

Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza began after the latter launched a surprise attack in parts of Israel on October 7, 2023. Nearly two years after the October terror attacks, about 50 hostages, both dead and alive, remain trapped in Gaza.

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