Israel Approves Plan to Seize All of Gaza

Israel approved an aggressive new plan for the Gaza Strip on Monday that calls for the military to capture and hold the entire territory, reports the BBC. In a Cabinet meeting, Benjamin Netanyahu "emphasized that the plan differs from previous ones by shifting from raid-based operations to the occupation of territory and sustaining it," an anonymous Israeli official tells the Washington Post. Publicly, however, a spokesman for the prime minister stopped short of calling the plan an "occupation." Whatever the term, Israel's military is calling up tens of thousands of reserves.

• A window: The new operation will not begin until after President Trump visits the region later this month, and that timeline is crucial because it opens the window for a possible ceasefire and hostage-release deal pegged to the president's trip, reports Reuters. "There is still a window of opportunity until President Trump concludes his visit to the Middle East, if Hamas understands we are serious," security Cabinet minister Zeev Elkin told Israeli public broadcaster Kan.
• Palestinians: Assuming the plan goes through, it's expected to force hundreds of thousands of Palestinian residents of Gaza to move further south and "exacerbate an already dire humanitarian crisis," per the AP.

(More Israel-Hamas war stories.)