Opposition leaders, families of hostages held in Gaza, and various international actors all issued swift condemnations Friday to the security cabinet’s decision to take over Gaza City.
Overnight, the high-level body approved a proposal by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to take over the densely populated city, bucking warnings from the Israel Defense Forces that the operation risks the lives of the remaining hostages in addition to potentially sparking a humanitarian disaster.
The limitation of the takeover to Gaza City did not seem to go as far as what had earlier been characterized as a plan to occupy the entirety of the Strip. Netanyahu told Fox News hours before the security cabinet convened that a full takeover was his intention.
However, a statement from Netanyahu’s office notably described the adopted proposal as one aimed at “defeating Hamas,” meaning that there may be subsequent operations beyond the one for Gaza City that were approved and not announced.
Opposition figures charged that the step would lead to the deaths of Israeli captives and soldiers.
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid called the move “a disaster that will lead to many more disasters,” in a post on X, adding that it was made in “complete contradiction to the opinion of the military and security ranks.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to Fox News on August 7, 2025 (Screen Capture)
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich “dragged” Netanyahu “into a move that will take months, lead to the deaths of the hostages, the killing of many soldiers, cost tens of billions to the Israeli taxpayer, and lead to a political collapse,” Lapid added.
“This is exactly what Hamas wanted: for Israel to be trapped in the field without a goal, without defining the picture of the day after, in a useless occupation that no one understands where it is leading,” he said.
Yisrael Beytenu party chairman and former defense minister Avigdor Liberman said that the decision “proves that life-and-death decisions are being made in opposition to security considerations and the war’s objectives.”
“The prime minister of October 7 is once again sacrificing the security of Israeli citizens for the sake of his seat,” he added.
Head of The Democrats party Yair Golan, head of the National Unity Party Benny Gantz, head of Yesh Atid Party Yair Lapid and head of Yisrael Beytenu Party Avigdor Liberman, hold a joint press conference at the Knesset, November 6, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Blue and White-National Unity party chairman Benny Gantz also criticized the plan, calling it a “political failure that wastes the tremendous achievements of the IDF.”
In a post on X, Gantz suggested an alternative plan to achieve the war’s stated goals of destroying Hamas and returning the hostages: “It can be done differently: First, announce that in exchange for the return of the hostages, we will be willing to agree to a permanent ceasefire.”
“The problem with this government is that it is slow, not determined, does not seize opportunities when they arise, and is not creative,” Gantz said. “We already entered Gaza with divisions despite Netanyahu’s fears, we already entered Khan Younis and Rafah despite Netanyahu delaying it. We will know how to do it in the future as well. But the question is, what have we done since then? Only waste time and military achievements.”
“We talked all the time about the day after — and Netanyahu did not act. Israel deserves leadership that seizes opportunities, not leadership that does not strive with all its might to return the hostages and defeat Hamas,” he added.
Yair Golan, head of The Democrats party, said the decision means that “more hostages will be abandoned to their deaths,” and that the move was typical of Netanyahu: “He is weak, easily pressured, lacking decision-making ability, and without the capacity to bridge between what the professional level presents and the group of messianists controlling the government.”
The decision is “a disaster for generations,” Golan said.
“Our sons and grandsons will still patrol the alleys of Gaza, we will pay hundreds of billions over the years, and all this for reasons of political survival and messianic visions,” he added, asking how the government planned to demilitarize the Strip: “Are we going to crawl through tunnels and retrieve the last Kalashnikovs?”
Protesters demanding a deal to end the war in Gaza and release hostages held by Hamas light a bonfire in front of the Likud party headquarters, in Tel Aviv, August 7, 2025. (Ido Lempert/Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum issued a scathing reaction to the decision to conquer Gaza City, where some of the captives are believed to be held.
“Tonight, the Israeli government sentenced the living hostages to death and the fallen hostages to disappearance,” it alleged in a statement.
“The cabinet decision to launch the process of occupying the Strip is an official declaration of the abandonment of the hostages, while completely ignoring the repeated warnings by the military echelon and the clear desire of most of the public in Israel,” it continued.
The statement accused the government of acting against the national interest with a “foolish” move of “deception and unforgivable moral and security neglect” that brings Israel closer to a “colossal disaster for the hostages and [IDF] fighters.”
The Forum added, however, that it was not too late and that the step could be stopped by reaching a comprehensive deal to end the war and return all the captives.
IDF troops are seen operating in the Gaza Strip in an image published by the military on August 8, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)
In a similar vein, Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar reported, citing an Egyptian diplomat, that Cairo has warned, in a message sent to the United States, that the Israeli proposal would lead to Hamas executing the Israeli hostages it is holding.
According to the report, this would occur because Hamas and the other terror groups holding the hostages “have orders to ‘neutralize’ them if their captors come under siege and are unable to escape alive.”
The report also stated that senior Egyptian officials have demanded an urgent return to the negotiating table between Israel and Hamas regarding a ceasefire in Gaza, and that Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has requested to be in direct contact on the matter with US President Donald Trump.
Egypt wasn’t the only country to criticize Jerusalem’s decision.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said it was wrong, urging the Jewish state to reconsider.
“The Israeli Government’s decision to further escalate its offensive in Gaza is wrong, and we urge it to reconsider immediately,” he said in a statement. “This action will do nothing to bring an end to this conflict or to help secure the release of the hostages. It will only bring more bloodshed.”
The Israeli Government’s decision to further escalate its offensive in Gaza is wrong, and we urge it to reconsider immediately.
Every day the humanitarian crisis in Gaza worsens and hostages taken by Hamas are being held in appalling and inhuman conditions.
We need a ceasefire… pic.twitter.com/UoJhjss81e
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) August 8, 2025
Turkey urged the international community and the United Nations Security Council to prevent Israel’s plan, saying it was a “heavy blow” to peace and security.
“We call on the international community to fulfil its responsibilities to prevent the implementation of this decision, which aims to forcibly displace Palestinians from their own land,” the country’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
Australia urged Israel “not to go down this path,” responding to Netanyahu’s remark about taking military control of Gaza.
“Australia calls on Israel to not go down this path, which will only worsen the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza,” Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in a statement, noting that permanent forced displacement is a violation of international law, and repeating calls for a ceasefire, aid to flow unimpeded and for terror group Hamas to return the hostages taken in October 2023.
“A two-state solution is the only pathway to secure an enduring peace – a Palestinian state and the State of Israel, living side-by-side in peace and security within internationally-recognized borders,” she added.
Palestinians rush to collect humanitarian aid airdropped by parachutes into Gaza City, northern Gaza Strip, August 7, 2025. (AP/Jehad Alshrafi)
Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said: “We firmly condemn the decision of the Israeli government to escalate the military occupation of Gaza. It will only cause more destruction and suffering.”
He added that “a permanent ceasefire, the immediate and massive entry of humanitarian aid, and the release of all hostages are urgently needed.”
China expressed “serious concerns” over Israel’s plan, urging it to “immediately cease its dangerous actions.”
“Gaza belongs to the Palestinian people and is an inseparable part of Palestinian territory,” a foreign ministry spokesperson told AFP in a message.
“The correct way to ease the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and to secure the release of hostages is an immediate ceasefire,” they added. “A complete resolution to the Gaza conflict hinges on a ceasefire; only then can a path to de-escalation be paved and regional security ensured.”
UN human rights chief Volker Turk said the Israel plan “must be immediately halted.”
“It runs contrary to the ruling of the International Court of Justice that Israel must bring its occupation to an end as soon as possible, to the realization of the agreed two-State solution and the right of Palestinians to self-determination,” he said in a statement.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
