Israel's political-security cabinet approved a plan early on Friday to take control of Gaza City, a move expanding military operations despite intensifying criticism at home and abroad over the devastating, almost two-year-old war.

Far-right allies in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition have been pushing for a total takeover of Gaza as part of his vow to eradicate Hamas, though the military has warned this could jeopardize the lives of remaining hostages.

The decision came after multiple failed attempts to mediate a ceasefire and amid a rising international outcry over images of starving Palestinian children underlining a deepening humanitarian disaster in the shattered enclave.

"The IDF will prepare to take control of Gaza City while providing humanitarian aid to the civilian population outside the combat zones," Netanyahu's office said in a statement, referring to the Israeli Defense Forces.

While Netanyahu said on Thursday Israel intended to take military control of the entire Gaza Strip, the plan approved on Friday focused specifically on sprawling Gaza City, the territory's largest urban center, located in its north.

Axios reporter Barak Ravid, citing an Israeli official, said on X the plan involved evacuating Palestinian civilians from Gaza City and launching a ground offensive there.

Asked if Israel, whose forces say they already hold about 75 percent of the slender coastal strip, would occupy all of it, Netanyahu told Fox News Channel's Bill Hemmer in an interview on Thursday: "We intend to."

But he said Israel wanted to hand over the territory to Arab forces to govern it. He did not elaborate on the governance arrangements or which Arab countries could be involved.

"We don't want to keep it. We want to have a security perimeter. We don't want to govern it. We don't want to be there as a governing body," he said.

Global reaction

Nations around the world on Friday expressed concern over Israeli plans to wrest control of Gaza City, saying that it would only worsen the conflict and lead to more bloodshed.

"China expresses serious concern over Israel's decision and urges Israel to immediately cease its dangerous actions," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun. "Gaza belongs to the Palestinian people and is an inalienable part of the Palestinian territory. 

"An immediate ceasefire is the correct way to ease the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and secure the release of hostages. A ceasefire is also the key to a complete resolution of the Gaza conflict. Only this can pave the way for de-escalating the conflict and safeguard regional security. 

"China is willing to work with the international community to promote an early cessation of the fighting in Gaza, alleviate the humanitarian crisis, implement the two-state solution, and ultimately achieve a comprehensive, just, and lasting solution to the Palestinian issue."

UN human rights chief Volker Turk said the plan must be "immediately halted". He said that Israel should instead allow "the full, unfettered flow of humanitarian aid" and Palestinian armed groups must unconditionally release hostages.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said his government will not approve any exports to Israel of military equipment that could be used in the Gaza Strip until further notice.

The release of the Israeli hostages and negotiations for a ceasefire are Germany's top priorities, Merz said in a statement, expressing deep concern over the suffering of civilians in the Gaza strip.

Dutch foreign minister Caspar Veldkamp said Israel's plan is "a wrong move," citing the "catastrophic" situation in Gaza.

"The plan of the Netanyahu government to intensify Israeli operations in Gaza is a wrong move. The (Gaza) humanitarian situation is catastrophic and demands immediate improvement. This decision in no way contributes to this and will also not help to get the hostages home," Veldkamp said in a statement on X.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Israel's decision to seize Gaza City was wrong and urged it to reconsider.

"This action will do nothing to bring an end to this conflict or to help secure the release of the hostages. It will only bring more bloodshed," he said.

Australia urged Israel "not to go down this path".

Hamas described Israel's decision to take control of Gaza City as a "war crime", adding that the Israeli government "does not care about the fate of its hostages."

Türkiye urged global pressure to halt the plan.

"We call on the international community to fulfil its responsibilities to prevent the implementation of this decision, which aims to forcibly displace Palestinians from their own land," the foreign ministry said in a statement. 

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said: "We firmly condemn the decision of the Israeli government to escalate the military occupation of Gaza. It will only cause more destruction and suffering."

He added that "a permanent ceasefire, the immediate and massive entry of humanitarian aid, and the release of all hostages are urgently needed."

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen told Denmark's TV2 on Friday that Israel's decision is wrong and should immediately be reversed.

Officials describe tense meeting

Israeli officials described a previous meeting this week with the head of the military as tense, saying military chief Eyal Zamir had pushed back against expanding Israel's campaign, which has displaced almost all Gaza's 2.2 million people.

In a sign of differences between some members of Israel's ruling coalition and the military, far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir had earlier challenged military head Zamir to state he would comply with government directives even if a decision was made to take all of Gaza.

A subsequent statement from Netanyahu's office said the IDF was "prepared to implement any decision that will be made by the Political-Security Cabinet."

Netanyahu, who has said there will be no end to the war until Hamas is completely destroyed, has come under pressure from Israelis to do whatever it takes to bring home hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, though many want the war to stop.

"Well, basically, I think it's a death sentence to all the hostages that are still being held there. And it's the wrong decision to do it at this time," said Danny Bukovsky, a hotelier in Tel Aviv.

Among the scenarios considered ahead of the security meeting was a phased takeover of areas in Gaza not yet under military control, a government source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Evacuation warnings could be issued to Palestinians in specific areas of Gaza, potentially giving them several weeks before the military moves in, the person added.

In its Friday statement, Netanyahu's office said the vast majority of the political-security cabinet members believed that "the alternative plan presented in the cabinet would not achieve the defeat of Hamas nor the return of the hostages."

'Blatant coup'

A full occupation of Gaza would reverse a 2005 decision in which Israel withdrew thousands of Jewish settlers and its forces after mounting Palestinian militant attacks, while retaining control over its borders, airspace and utilities.

Israeli right-wing parties blame that decision for the rise to power in Gaza of the Islamist Hamas movement in a 2006 election.

It was unclear whether Netanyahu was foreseeing a prolonged takeover or a short-term operation.

In a statement, Hamas called Netanyahu's comments "a blatant coup" against the negotiation process.

Arab countries will "only support what Palestinians agree and decide on," a Jordanian official source said, adding that security in Gaza should be handled through "legitimate Palestinian institutions".

Netanyahu's government has ruled out a return to Gaza of the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited autonomy in parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank under 1990s interim peace accords.

Hamas official Osama Hamdan said the group would treat any force formed to govern Gaza as an "occupying" entity linked to Israel.

Earlier this year, Israel and the United States rejected an Egyptian proposal, backed by Arab leaders, that envisaged the creation of an administrative committee of independent, professional Palestinian technocrats entrusted with the governance of Gaza after the war.