Israel's security cabinet approved a major expansion of military operations in the Gaza Strip in early May 2025, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying Israeli forces would increasingly seize and hold territory rather than conduct temporary raids. The plan, named Operation Gideon's Chariots, also envisaged moving large numbers of Palestinian civilians toward southern Gaza as the military expanded its ground campaign.
The decision came as Israel prepared to mobilize tens of thousands of reservists and as negotiations over the release of hostages held in Gaza remained unresolved. A senior Israeli defense official said there would still be a diplomatic "window of opportunity" around U.S. President Donald Trump's planned Middle East visit before the expanded operation was implemented at full scale.
Netanyahu said the new approach meant Israeli forces would hold areas they captured. Israeli officials described the objectives as increasing pressure on Hamas, securing the release of the remaining hostages and dismantling Hamas's military and governing capabilities.
The planned civilian movement and territorial seizure immediately raised humanitarian concerns. United Nations officials warned that a wider offensive and additional displacement could increase civilian casualties and further strain access to food, shelter, health care and other essential services.
Hostages and the military campaign
The announcement also exposed disagreements over the priority given to Israel's war objectives. IDF spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said returning the hostages was the military operation's highest priority, followed by defeating Hamas and ending its rule in Gaza.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir criticized Defrin's remarks, arguing that the military was subordinate to decisions made by Israel's political leadership. Families representing hostages also strongly opposed an expanded campaign, warning that intensified fighting could endanger captives still held in Gaza.
The dispute reflected a broader tension that had persisted throughout the war: whether increased military pressure would improve the prospects of recovering hostages or instead put them at greater risk.
The war began after the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and roughly 250 were taken hostage, according to Israeli figures. Israel subsequently launched its military campaign in Gaza.
What Israeli officials meant by taking territory
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a member of Netanyahu's security cabinet, went further than the government's formal description of the operation, publicly saying Israel was going to "conquer" the Gaza Strip.
Such statements did not by themselves establish a formal Israeli decision to annex Gaza. Military seizure, prolonged military control and legal annexation are distinct concepts. At the time the expanded campaign was announced, the security cabinet had approved broader military operations and the holding of captured areas, not a completed annexation of the territory.
Netanyahu and other officials nevertheless indicated that Israeli forces would not quickly withdraw from territory captured during the planned offensive. The prospect of prolonged Israeli control therefore became a central issue surrounding the operation.
Humanitarian conditions and the aid blockade
The military expansion was announced during an increasingly severe humanitarian crisis. Israeli authorities had blocked humanitarian and commercial supplies from entering Gaza from March 2, 2025. By May 5, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said the blockade had lasted nine weeks and had forced bakeries and community kitchens to close, depleted warehouses and worsened hunger.
Israel said restrictions on aid were intended to pressure Hamas and prevent the group from benefiting from humanitarian supplies. Hamas denied Israeli allegations that it systematically diverted aid. UN agencies and humanitarian organizations argued that civilians urgently needed large-scale, sustained deliveries regardless of the dispute between the parties.
At the same time, Palestinian casualties continued to rise. Gaza's Ministry of Health reported 52,567 Palestinians killed and 118,610 injured from October 7, 2023 through May 5, 2025, including 2,459 deaths after large-scale Israeli attacks resumed on March 18. Casualty figures from an active conflict can be difficult to independently verify in real time, although UN agencies routinely cited the ministry's figures while identifying their source.
The World Health Organization subsequently reported that more than 52,000 people had been killed and nearly 120,000 injured by mid-May, while Gaza's health system was operating under severe shortages and extensive damage.
Dispute over a new aid distribution system
Alongside the military plan, Israeli and U.S. officials were developing a new mechanism for distributing humanitarian assistance. Israel argued that a redesigned system could deliver supplies to Palestinian civilians while preventing Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad from diverting them.
The proposal envisioned distribution from designated locations rather than relying exclusively on the established UN-led humanitarian network. UN agencies and many aid organizations objected, saying the proposed arrangement could make access to assistance dependent on population movements and military-controlled conditions.
The Humanitarian Country Team for the occupied Palestinian territory, which includes UN agencies and nongovernmental organizations, said it would not participate in a system that failed to comply with humanitarian principles including humanity, impartiality, independence and neutrality.
Hamas also rejected the proposed mechanism, describing it as an attempt to use humanitarian assistance for political purposes.
What happened after the plan was announced
The early-May announcement was initially a plan for an expanded campaign rather than evidence that all of its objectives had already been achieved. That distinction became important as events developed.
On May 18, 2025, the Israel Defense Forces announced that ground operations under Operation Gideon's Chariots had begun. IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said the military's two main objectives were returning the hostages and defeating Hamas, while maintaining flexibility for political leaders to pursue a hostage agreement.
Israel also began allowing limited humanitarian supplies into Gaza later in May after an approximately 11-week blockade. UN humanitarian officials welcomed the reopening but said the initial quantities were far below what Gaza's population required. The UN humanitarian chief said on May 19 that nine trucks had been cleared to enter that day and described the amount as only a small fraction of the assistance needed.
The broader conflict did not end with Operation Gideon's Chariots. Later in 2025, Israel's government approved another expansion centered on taking control of Gaza City, while negotiations over hostages and a ceasefire continued. Those later decisions represented subsequent phases of the war and should be distinguished from the specific security-cabinet decision announced in early May.
The May decision therefore marked a significant shift in Israeli strategy: from repeated incursions and withdrawals toward an explicitly stated intention to capture and retain additional territory. Whether that approach would secure the release of hostages, defeat Hamas or produce a sustainable postwar arrangement remained unresolved when the operation was announced, while humanitarian organizations warned that civilians faced increasing displacement and deprivation.
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