Netanyahu’s plan approved by Israel’s Security Ministerial Cabinet: Plan to evacuate Gaza City by October 7

Israel – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to evacuate Gaza has finally been approved by Israel’s Security Ministerial Cabinet (a cabinet chaired by the prime minister, composed of permanent members such as the Defense Minister, Foreign Minister, and Interior Minister, with additional military officials co-opted as needed).

According to a CNN report citing sources, Israel has drafted a plan to evacuate Gaza City by October 7, 2025. With the Security Ministerial Cabinet’s approval to expand the war in Gaza, military operations will now enter multiple phases to implement the plan.

The first phase concludes on October 7, during which Gaza City will be cleared out, and humanitarian aid will be redirected outside the city. The plan outlines extending the scope of aid delivery beyond Gaza City.

That date—October 7, 2025—is chosen symbolically as it marks the second anniversary of the Hamas-led attack on Israel in 2023, which triggered the Gaza war. CNN noted that this date was selected to signify the capture of Gaza City.

At the beginning of the first phase, Israel plans to significantly increase humanitarian aid operations outside Gaza City, while not distributing aid within the city. The aim is to coerce Palestinians into leaving Gaza City.

The plan is expected to take up to five months to complete. Before the cabinet vote, an Israeli official said the approved plan is narrower than full control over Gaza; it includes only Gaza City—not surrounding camps—but still would forcibly displace nearly half of the territory’s population. Currently, the Israeli military claims control over 75 % of Gaza.

Meanwhile, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir warned the Security Cabinet about the risk of exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the international repercussions of expanding the war—but his warnings were ignored.

Zamir also cautioned about the safety of the remaining 50 hostages in Gaza, roughly 20 of whom are believed to still be alive. Instead of adopting his limited plan to encircle Gaza City and other areas, the Security Cabinet rejected it.

In response, Netanyahu’s office released a statement referring obliquely to Zamir’s proposal, saying the alternative plan “as presented to the Security Cabinet would neither defeat Hamas nor achieve the goal of bringing the hostages home.”

The United Nations has warned this move could lead to “devastating consequences,” and hostage families have expressed fear that their loved ones’ lives are in grave danger.