Demonstrators gather before a bonfire during an anti-government protest calling for action to secure the release of Israeli hostages held captive in the Gaza Strip by Palestinian militants since the 2023 October 7 attacks, outside the Israeli Defence Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv on August 2, 2025. (Photo by Jack GUEZ / AFP)
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepared Tuesday to unveil an updated Gaza war plan designed to destroy Hamas and secure the release of dozens of hostages, with Israeli media reporting he would order the total occupation of the Palestinian territory.
Netanyahu was expected to meet security chiefs in Jerusalem to issue new orders, even as Israel’s diplomats convened a UN Security Council meeting in New York to highlight the plight of Israelis held in Gaza.
The timing of the security meeting has not been officially confirmed. Netanyahu said Monday that it would be “in the coming days”.
Israeli broadcaster Channel 12 said Netanyahu would meet the army chief of staff and the defence and army ministers. Unnamed senior officials told Israeli media he intends to order the re-occupation of Gaza.
“Netanyahu wants the Israeli army to conquer the entire Gaza Strip,” said a report on public broadcaster Kan.
“Several cabinet members who spoke with the prime minister confirmed that he has decided to extend the fight to areas where hostages might be held.”
The private daily Maariv declared: “The die is cast. We’re en route to the total conquest of Gaza.”
While the reconquest plan has not been officially confirmed, it has already drawn an angry response from the Palestinian Authority and Gaza’s Hamas-run government, which insisted it will not shift its position on ceasefire talks.
“We want to reach an agreement that ends the war. The ball is now in the hands of Israel and the Americans, who support Israeli positions and delay the conclusion of an agreement,” senior Hamas official Husam Badran told broadcaster Al Jazeera.
– Desperate families –
After 22 months of combat sparked by the October 7, 2023, cross-border attacks by Hamas that killed 1,219 people and saw hundreds kidnapped, the Israeli army has devastated large parts of the Palestinian territory.
More than 60,933 Palestinians have been killed, according to figures from Hamas-run Gaza’s health ministry, and humanitarian agencies have warned that the territory’s 2.4 million people are slipping into a catastrophic famine.
But Netanyahu is under pressure on several fronts.
Domestically, the desperate and vocal families of the 49 remaining hostages are demanding a ceasefire to bring their loved ones home.
Around the world, humanitarians are pushing for a truce to allow food to the starving, and several European capitals have announced plans to recognise Palestinian statehood, despite fierce US and Israeli opposition.
Meanwhile, Netanyahu’s far-right allies in his ruling coalition want to seize the opportunity of the war to reoccupy Gaza and tighten control of the occupied West Bank.
Foreign Minister Gideon Saar was in New York, where Israel’s US ally was helping organise a Security Council meeting to focus world attention on the fate of the hostages rather than the looming famine — which Israeli spokespeople insist is an exaggerated threat.
The defence ministry civil affairs agency for the Palestinian territories, COGAT, said Tuesday that Israel will partially reopen private sector trade with Gaza to reduce its reliance on UN and aid agency convoys and international military airdrops.
“As part of formulating the mechanism, a limited number of local merchants were approved by the defence establishment, subject to several criteria and strict security screening,” COGAT said.
Israel has been fighting Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza for 22 months and imposed a total blockade on March 2, partially lifted in May to allow a US-backed private agency to open food distribution centres.
Aid convoys and airdrops by Arab and European militaries resumed last month, as UN-mandated expert reports warned famine was unfolding in the war-torn territory.
The COGAT statement said private sector deliveries would be paid for by monitored bank transfers and be subject to inspections by the Israeli military before entering Gaza, “to prevent the involvement of the Hamas terrorist organisation.”
– Staple foods –
Permitted goods under the new mechanism will include food staples, fruit, vegetables, baby formula, and hygiene products, COGAT said.
On Monday. Netanyahu insisted Israel’s war goals remained “the defeat of the enemy, the release of our hostages and the promise that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel”.
His statement came after hundreds of retired Israeli security chiefs wrote to US President Donald Trump to urge him to convince Netanyahu to end the war, arguing that Israel has already scored a military victory and should seek to negotiate the hostages’ release
The families of the hostages are also horrified by talk of escalation, accusing the government of putting their relatives in renewed danger, even as Palestinian groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad release propaganda videos showing emaciated captives.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday the joint US-Israeli campaign was “crushing” Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah and called for Iranians to rise up and overthrow the Islamic republic.
Netanyahu spoke soon after the new Iranian ruler Mojtaba Khamenei’s first statement, in which he vowed to avenge the Iranians killed in the war so far.
“We are crushing Iran and Hezbollah,” Netanyahu said in a televised media briefing.
In wide-ranging comments on the war, Netanyahu said he was seeking to use the conflict to oust the clerical leadership in Tehran.
“I have added a third objective, which is to create, for the Iranian people, the conditions to bring down this regime,” Netanyahu said.
The other two goals remained preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons and destroying its ballistic missile capabilities, he said.
The Israeli leader used his remarks to demand that Beirut rein in Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which has joined Iran in launching missile strikes on Israel.
“I told the Lebanese government a few days ago — you are playing with fire if you continue allowing Hezbollah to operate, in violation of your commitment to disarm it,” he said.
“The time has come for you to do so. Now, if you do not do so, it is clear that we will do so,” he continued.
Hezbollah on Thursday said it carried out a number of attacks against Israel, including on an air defence system near the town of Caesarea, home to Netanyahu’s private residence.
Israel has threatened to target Lebanese government infrastructure if the attacks by Hezbollah persist.
Netanyahu had a personal message for Iran’s new leader, saying: “We eliminated the old tyrant, and the new tyrant, the puppet of the Revolutionary Guards, can’t show his face in public.”
Khamenei had earlier issued a first statement in his name that was read out by a TV presenter.
The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) have stated that Nigerians who wish to leave Iran are being safely escorted across the Armenia border by officials of the Nigerian Embassy in Tehran.
In a statement posted on X on Wednesday, the commission said the move was aimed at ensuring a “smooth and secure passage for those wishing to exit the country.”
“No Nigerian in Iran has been affected by the conflict so far, with government officials remaining stationed at the border to receive and assist all evacuees,” the statement said.
NIDCOM added that the federal government remains vigilant and is responding to the safety and welfare of Nigerians abroad.
The Commission noted that the evacuation process is being coordinated in collaboration with Armenian authorities, with Nigerian officials stationed at the border to assist citizens arriving from Iran.
Meanwhile, at least one Nigerian has been identified among the 122 people injured during the interception of Iranian ballistic missiles in the United Arab Emirates.
The UAE Ministry of Defence did not specify the number of casualties from each nationality.
It remained unclear how many Nigerians are currently in Iran or other Middle Eastern countries affected by the ongoing conflict. However, some Nigerians in Gulf states have called on the Federal Government to prepare repatriation flights for their evacuation.
Earlier, the chairperson of NIDCOM, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, said Nigeria would begin repatriating its citizens stranded in the Middle East once the airspace reopens.
The Commission has also released emergency hotlines for Nigerians in the affected areas to seek assistance.
President Donald Trump said Thursday it would be a “waste of time” currently to consider sending US ground troops into Iran, NBC News reported, dismissing the Iranian foreign minister’s warning that such a move would spell disaster for invaders.
“It’s a waste of time. They’ve lost everything. They’ve lost their navy. They’ve lost everything they can lose,” he told NBC by telephone, adding that Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi’s earlier remark that Iran was ready for a US or Israeli ground invasion was a “wasted comment.”
Trump also indicated he is keen to see Iran’s leadership structure removed and that “we want to go in and clean out everything” quickly.
