The Israeli army approved the plan for the offensive in Gaza.

The Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, approved the central concept and the plans for an expanded offensive in the Gaza Strip.

The meeting included the participation of senior Shin Bet officials and other defense leaders.

The plan outlines the next steps in Gaza, including the presentation this Thursday of the guidelines for the occupation of Gaza City to Defense Minister Israel Katz.

Once approval is received, the forces will be notified and deployed on the ground, and several reserve units will be drafted.

The operation, prepared by the planning, operations, and intelligence departments of the Southern Command, includes strategies to move the civilian population of Gaza City toward the Mawasi area and measures to ensure control of the area.

The IDF anticipates that Hamas, which has strengthened its infrastructure both above ground and in underground tunnels, will respond with artillery fire, explosives, and ambushes, as well as with rocket launches from previously refurbished positions.

Zamir has emphasized that the main objective is twofold: to recover the hostages still held by Hamas and to dismantle the organization's power structure, while ensuring the safety of the soldiers.

However, political and military sources confirm that tensions have arisen in recent weeks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding the strategy.

Netanyahu keeps that the hostages can only be freed through increasing military pressure on Hamas. Meanwhile, Zamir has warned about the risk of troop fatigue after nearly two years of fighting and about the possibility of falling into a "strategic trap" if military force alone is relied upon to achieve their release.

"We are at the beginning of a new stage in the fight in Gaza", Zamir declared on Monday. "We'll do everything possible to protect the hostages and bring them home".