Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz has approved an operation plan to capture the Gaza Strip. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has ordered the conscription of about 60,000 reservists to participate in the offensive, The Times of Israel newspaper reports.
The operation, the plan of which was presented to Katz the night before by the chief of the IDF General Staff, Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, was called “Gideon’s Chariots — 2.”
According to a source in the Israeli security forces, Katz praised the IDF’s plan and readiness.
The Israeli Defense Minister also approved a “humanitarian plan” for about a million Palestinian civilians to be displaced from Gaza City to the southern Gaza Strip.
Earlier, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said that the country would not allow the creation of a State of Palestine on its territory.
Dmitry Polyansky, Acting Permanent Representative of Russia to the United Nations, called Israel’s decision to expand its military operation in the Gaza Strip a gross violation of international law.
