All of Gaza: Israel plans full Gazan takeover in new operation, titled 'Gideon Chariots'

Israeli tanks positioned in Israel, close to its border with Palestine | Reuters

Israel's top leadership on Monday approved a plan to capture the entire Gaza Strip and indefinitely remain in the area, according to an Associated Press report that quoted two Israeli officials.

If implemented, the move—officially titled 'Gideon Chariots'—is expected to be a significant advancement of Israel's operations in Gaza, that is also likely to earn them stronger international backlash.

"The plan will include, among other things, the conquest of the Gaza Strip and the holding of the territories, moving the Gaza population south for their protection," the official statement said.

Just two days after Israeli news outlets reported reservists being mobilised in the thousands—as a part of this escalation—Israeli Cabinet ministers approved the plan in a voting process conducted early this morning.

The new plan, which Israeli officials have touted as a means to defeat Gaza and free hostages held there, also calls for thousands of Palestinians in the region to be displaced to southern Gaza, thereby worsening the humanitarian crisis in the entire region.

According to Israel's public broadcaster Kan, the new plan was to be implemented gradually: over a period of a few months, with forces taking on Gaza in an area-by-area basis. According to a Reuters report, such a plan could potentially lead to a ceasefire and hostage negotiations, ahead of a visit by US President Donald Trump to Gaza next week, Cabinet security minister Zeev Elkin said.

"There is still a window of opportunity until President Trump concludes his visit to the Middle East, if Hamas understands we are serious," Elkin told Kan on Monday.

"If there is no hostage deal, Operation 'Gideon Chariots' will begin with great intensity and will not stop until all its goals are achieved," a senior Israeli defence official said.

Currently, three Israel Defence Forces (IDF) divisions are operating inside Gaza. Although the military had claimed that the campaign was intended to pressure Hamas into agreeing to a hostage release deal, Israeli officials have readied themselves for the launch of “powerful strikes” on Hamas targets in Gaza, with the aim of degrading Hamas’ military capabilities. The IDF said that pressure on Hamas would increase steadily, with the latest mobilisation forming part of a staged operational plan.

However, the mobilised reservists may not be sent directly to Gaza. Instead, many are expected to reinforce Israel’s northern and eastern fronts, including Lebanon, Syria, and the West Bank, enabling active-duty soldiers to be redeployed to the Strip. The IDF insists the mobilisation is driven by operational needs, amid growing public pressure to resolve the hostage crisis.

The new plan also explained that the displacement of Gaza's civilian population would help keep ongoing humanitarian aid to the region out of Hamas' hands, though the tw-month-old blockade would not be lifted yet. The United Nations on Sunday rejected the distribution of aid via what the plan described as Israeli military-designed hubs.

After two months of devastating blockade and starvation of Gaza, Israeli officials demand that we shut down the universal aid distribution system run by the UN and NGOs like NRC. They want to manipulate and militarize all aid to civilians, forcing us to deliver supplies through…

— Jan Egeland (@NRC_Egeland) May 5, 2025

On Monday, Jan Egeland, Secretary-General of the Norwegian Refugee Council, highlighted this fact in a post on X, citing a statement by the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Meanwhile, dissent is growing within Israel’s own ranks. Thousands of reservists—many of whom have served repeated tours during the conflict—have voiced frustration over the war being prolonged. A group of Air Force veterans and retired officers also recently signed a public letter urging the government to prioritise a deal to bring the hostages home, even if it means halting the fighting. Protests in Tel Aviv and other cities continue, with demonstrators demanding that saving lives takes precedence over military escalation.

International mediation efforts involving Qatar, Egypt and the United States have so far failed. Israel demands Hamas disarm, while Hamas insists it will not release additional hostages without a full Israeli withdrawal and an end to hostilities. In that regard, Netanyahu, under pressure from his far-right coalition partners, has intensified criticism of Qatar, accusing it of siding with “Hamas barbarism”.