Israeli leaders early on Friday approved a plan for the gradual military takeover of all of Gaza, a pivotal and risky decision that went against the recommendations of the Israeli military and promised to take the nearly two-year war into uncharted terrain.
After 10 hours of deliberations, a majority of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet backed his proposal to prepare to conquer the core of Gaza City, according to a pre-dawn statement from his office,
At a later stage, the military is expected to push into central areas of the enclave where Hamas is believed to be holding Israeli hostages and where the military has largely refrained from operating before.
