The Israel Defense Forces are building up troops and combat vehicles along the Gaza Strip border following the security cabinet’s approval on Friday of a plan to take control of Gaza City.

The mission falls short of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s initial command for the IDF to assume authority over the entire Palestinian enclave to oust Hamas and free the remaining Israeli hostages.

Mr. Netanyahu said the ultimate goal is to free Gaza from Hamas and help establish a peaceful government there for its residents.

“Gaza will be demilitarized, and a peaceful civilian administration will be established — one that is not the Palestinian Authority, not Hamas, and not any other terrorist organization,” he said in a statement. “This will help free our hostages and ensure Gaza does not pose a threat to Israel in the future.”

The security cabinet on Friday defined the steps necessary for concluding the war: disarming Hamas, the return of the hostages — both living and dead; demilitarizing the Gaza Strip, Israeli security control there; and the establishment of an alternative civil administration.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said Hamas continues to pose a danger to Israel’s security despite nearly two years of fighting that has leveled much of the Gaza Strip and caused thousands of casualties.

“It is an extremist organization that is part of the Muslim Brotherhood movement and continues even today to strive for Israel’s destruction,” Mr. Katz said in a statement. “Such a terrorist organization must not exist in Gaza.”

Israel launched the war in response to the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led massacre from the Gaza Strip into several communities in southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and wounded more than 3,400 others. Hamas abducted about 250 people, of whom 20 are thought to still be in custody.

“I have been authorized, together with the Prime Minister, to approve the IDF’s plans to implement the cabinet’s decisions,” Mr. Katz said. “The IDF is already preparing today for the full execution of these decisions.”

The decision to launch a full-scale armored assault into the Gaza Strip has resulted in a firestorm of criticisms, both from within Israel and without.

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid described the cabinet’s decision as a “disaster that will lead to many more disasters.” He said the politicians pressed for the new mission without considering the opinions of high-level military and security officials or the erosion and exhaustion of the fighting forces.

“It will take months, lead to the death of the hostages (and) the killing of many soldiers,” Mr. Lapid said in a post on X. “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 [and] in a useless occupation that no one understands where it is leading.”

He said right-wing members of the current government pushed Mr. Netanyahu into a move that will take months to carry out, lead to the death of the hostages and many soldiers, and cost tens of billions to the Israeli taxpayer.

Mr. Netanyahu’s government has, at least, the tacit approval of the country’s most important patron: U.S. President Donald Trump. He was asked whether Americans would support occupying parts of Gaza.

“I really can’t say. That’s going to be pretty much up to Israel,” Mr. Trump told reporters.

IDF officials on Friday did not release any information about how the new mission would be carried out, including which units would participate.

“Israel has officially put Hamas on notice of an impending attempt to take over Gaza City, giving the group and its allies time to prepare defensive traps,” warned Joe Truzman, a senior research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. “What remains of Hamas’ battered Gaza City Brigade … will likely continue to employ guerrilla warfare tactics to stall what will probably be an overwhelming IDF push to capture the city.”

Several countries denounced the Israeli government’s decision to escalate its ongoing offensive into Gaza. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the operation will do nothing to bring an end to the conflict or help secure the release of the hostages.

“Every day the humanitarian crisis in Gaza worsens and hostages taken by Hamas are being held in appalling and inhuman conditions,” Mr. Starmer said in a statement. “What we need is a ceasefire, a surge in humanitarian aid, the release of all hostages by Hamas, and a negotiated solution. Hamas can play no part in the future of Gaza and must leave as well as disarm.”

Officials at the United Nations also denounced Israel’s plan for a military takeover in the Gaza Strip. U.N. human rights chief Volker Turk said it runs counter to the ruling of the International Court of Justice that said Israel must bring its occupation to an end “as soon as possible.”

“This further escalation will result in more massive forced displacement, more killing, more unbearable suffering, senseless destruction, and atrocity crimes,” Mr. Turk said in a statement. “The war in Gaza must end now, and Israelis and Palestinians must be allowed to live side by side in peace.”

Israel should put its efforts into saving the lives of Gaza’s civilians by allowing the full, unfettered flow of humanitarian aid into the country, Mr. Turk said.

Defense Minister Katz said Israel’s resolve won’t be weakened by the threats and condemnation of other countries.

“The days when Jews did not defend themselves are gone. This is the time for leadership to make decisions,” he said. “We must be worthy of our heroic soldiers, both regular and reserve, who are fighting in Gaza’s tunnels against the Hamas monsters.”

• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.