Hamas warned on Friday that Israel’s newly approved plan to seize Gaza City would “sacrifice” the roughly 20 hostages still held in the enclave and amount to a fresh war crime. In a statement, the militant group said the decision showed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is willing to risk Israeli captives’ lives for political goals and urged the United States and international courts to intervene. Israel’s security cabinet late Thursday authorised the military to prepare an operation to take control of Gaza City, part of a broader campaign that Netanyahu told Fox News could ultimately extend across the entire Gaza Strip. The prime minister’s office said troops would coordinate humanitarian assistance for civilians outside combat zones, but gave no timetable for the assault. Hamas vowed that any expanded offensive would meet fierce resistance and warned that it would deepen Gaza’s humanitarian catastrophe. Australia and the United Kingdom have asked Israel to reconsider its stance amid rising civilian casualties and widespread hunger in the territory. The planned push comes 22 months into the war that erupted after Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack on southern Israel, which killed about 1,200 people and led to around 250 abductions. The Gaza Health Ministry, run by Hamas, says Israel’s air-and-ground campaign has since killed more than 61,000 Palestinians and displaced most of the strip’s population.