Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir on Wednesday approved what the army called “the main framework” for an expanded ground offensive in the Gaza Strip. The plan, cleared during a General Staff meeting with Shin Bet and other security agencies, follows last week’s security-cabinet directive instructing the military to seize Gaza City, the enclave’s largest urban centre. According to the IDF, the upcoming phase will move Israeli troops into Gaza City as well as refugee camps in central Gaza and the southern coastal area of Al Mawasi—zones not yet under Israeli control after 22 months of war. Zamir ordered higher troop readiness and preparations for additional reserve mobilisation, but the army has not provided a timetable. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has framed the operation around five objectives: the complete disarmament of Hamas, release of all hostages, demilitarisation of Gaza, continued Israeli security control and the installation of a non-Israeli civil administration. About 50 hostages are still held in the Strip, with Israeli intelligence assessing that roughly half are alive. Humanitarian conditions continue to deteriorate. Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry says 61,722 Palestinians have been killed and 154,525 wounded since October 2023, figures the United Nations deems credible. Gaza’s civil defense reported at least 41 additional deaths on Wednesday, while hunger-related fatalities have climbed to 235, including 106 children. Israel’s casualty toll from Hamas’s 7 Oct 2023 attack stands at 1,219 dead. The new assault blueprint has drawn sharp international criticism. China, France, Russia and the United Kingdom denounced the plan during an emergency UN Security Council session that ended without action after a U.S. veto. Egypt and Saudi Arabia called the move a “blatant violation” of international law, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Netanyahu of prolonging the war for political survival. Inside Israel, reserve pilots and hostage families staged protests warning that a deeper push risks the captives’ lives. Diplomatic efforts continue in parallel. A Hamas delegation arrived in Cairo for talks with Egyptian mediators, Qatar and the United States on a proposed 60-day cease-fire and hostage-swap arrangement. Netanyahu, however, reiterated that Israel “will not return to partial agreements,” insisting that any truce must include the militants’ full disarmament and the return of all captives.