Israel approves plan to capture all of Gaza, calls up tens of thousands of reserve troops: report

Israeli bureaucrats approved a plan to capture all of Gaza and hold it indefinitely on Monday hours after the military publicized it was calling up tens of thousands of reserve troops the Associated Press broadcasted Israeli Cabinet ministers approved the plan in an early morning vote on Monday Israel now controls roughly of Gaza and the plan would see Israeli forces expand into the south Officers stated the plan is set to be implemented gradually with Israeli forces rooting out Hamas control over territories The plan would also seek to prevent the militant Hamas group from distributing humanitarian aid which Israel says strengthens the group s rule in Gaza It also accuses Hamas of keeping the aid for itself to bolster its capabilities The plan also included powerful strikes against Hamas targets the agents stated Violence in Gaza has ramped up once again in the weeks since a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas collapsed in March The IDF has also vowed to increase operations against the Houthis in Yemen after the terrorist group fired a missile that landed near Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport TOP HAMAS TERROR LEADER KILLED IN 'PRECISE STRIKE' BY ISRAEL IDFIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed retaliation for the attack Sunday and participated in several defense meetings throughout the day The missile reportedly evaded both Israeli and U S missile defenses according to Israeli media Whoever harms us we will strike them sevenfold affirmed Defense Minister Israel Katz ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTER SLAMS UN CALLS IT 'ROTTEN ANTI-ISRAEL AND ANTISEMITIC BODY'At least eight people were injured in the missile strike though none of the injuries were life-threatening Israel has not yet ratified any specific military retaliation Netanyahu noted that the Houthis are an Iran-backed group and explained responsibility for the strike ultimately lies with Tehran He disclosed Israel will retaliate at a time and place of our choosing Over the weekend the Israeli Air Force says it struck over terror targets in the Gaza Strip including terrorist cells tunnels underground infrastructure sites and other military structures IDF troops operating in southern Gaza also located weapons caches in the area dismantled dozens of terrorist infrastructure sites and eliminated a number of terrorists The Associated Press contributed to this document