Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the Israeli Defence Forces to seize effective control of more than 70 per cent of the Gaza Strip, according to multiple sources inside the security cabinet. The directive, obtained by this newsroom from two senior officials who spoke on condition of anonymity, marks a dramatic escalation in the eight-month campaign that has already levelled entire neighbourhoods and displaced nearly two million people.
British diplomats based in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem have privately warned London that the occupied enclave is approaching an irreversible humanitarian catastrophe. One Foreign Office cable, seen by this correspondent, describes the situation as “a tipping point beyond which the basic fabric of civilian life cannot be restored”. The cable cites mass starvation, the collapse of the healthcare system, and the systematic destruction of water and sanitation infrastructure.
The military operation, codenamed “Iron Wall II”, aims to establish a permanent Israeli security buffer along the Philadelphi Corridor and deepen control over the Netzarim Junction, effectively bisecting the Strip. A defence ministry map marked “secret” and circulated among senior commanders shows shaded areas covering northern Gaza, the outskirts of Gaza City, and large swathes of the central and southern regions. Only the densely populated refugee camps of Rafah and parts of Khan Younis remain outside the declared zone of full operational control.
“We are no longer talking about raids and incursions,” said a retired Israeli general who has advised the security cabinet. “This is a land grab, plain and simple. They are creating facts on the ground that will make any future Palestinian state impossible.”
Netanyahu’s office declined to comment on the operational details but issued a statement saying “the Prime Minister is committed to achieving total victory over Hamas and ensuring the security of Israeli citizens for generations.”
The humanitarian implications are staggering. The UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has already suspended food distribution in the north due to Israeli restrictions and ongoing combat. A confidential assessment by the International Committee of the Red Cross, leaked to this newsroom, warns that “an estimated 1.1 million people are facing catastrophic food insecurity, with famine conditions already present in some areas”.
British diplomats have urged the Foreign Office to table a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces. But one Whitehall insider admitted the UK’s hands are tied: “The Americans are not going to allow a resolution that sanctions Israel. We are reduced to issuing démarches and making phone calls.”
Documents uncovered by this reporter show that the British government has continued to license arms sales to Israel worth hundreds of millions of pounds, despite internal legal advice that such sales may violate international humanitarian law. A 2023 Foreign Office memo noted “a clear risk that UK-origin components could be used in operations that breach the Geneva Conventions”.
Meanwhile, the cost of the campaign is mounting. Israel’s defence budget has ballooned by 40 per cent since October, and the shekel has fallen to a four-year low against the dollar. Opposition leader Yair Lapid has accused Netanyahu of “dragging us into a quagmire with no exit strategy”.
But for the people of Gaza, the calculus is simpler. Dr. Mahmoud al-Astal, a surgeon at the Al-Shifa hospital now operating by candlelight, told this reporter in a voice message: “Every day we decide who lives and who dies. We run out of anaesthesia, we run out of bandages. The children are drinking sewage water. How much more can we take?”
As night falls over Gaza, the IDF’s bulldozers are still carving new roads through the rubble. The military says it is creating “security zones”. The diplomats call it annexation. The dead don’t call it anything at all.
