Fresh commercial satellite imagery taken on 7 August shows large concentrations of Israeli armour, artillery and logistical units at several staging areas along the Gaza border, including the Karni crossing, according to an NBC News report that cites three current and one former U.S. official who examined the pictures. The officials said the scale and configuration of forces mirror deployments that preceded previous incursions, suggesting Israel may be preparing a new ground offensive, though they acknowledged the movement could also serve as negotiating leverage. The troop buildup came hours after Israel’s security cabinet approved Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to “remove Hamas” and, if necessary, seize full military control of the enclave while installing an alternative civil administration. In an interview aired by Fox News on 7 August, Netanyahu said Israel does not intend to govern Gaza permanently but wants a security perimeter and an authority that is neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority. Almost two years of fighting have already placed roughly 75 percent of Gaza under Israeli occupation and severely limited independent reporting. The Committee to Protect Journalists counts at least 184 Palestinian reporters and media workers killed since October 2023, making the conflict the deadliest for the profession since CPJ began keeping records in 1992. Al Jazeera correspondent Anas al-Sharif, one of six journalists killed in a 10 August airstrike near al-Shifa hospital, is among the latest casualties. The humanitarian situation remains a point of friction with Washington. U.S. President Donald Trump dispatched Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff to Tel Aviv last week after a tense 28 July phone call in which Trump rejected Netanyahu’s assertion that reports of famine in Gaza were fabricated, according to officials briefed on the exchange. U.S. diplomats say they are continuing to press Israel to expand the flow of food and other aid even as the Israeli military weighs its next moves.