Israeli military leaders reportedly oppose Netanyahu’s plans as the country faces growing diplomatic isolation

The Israeli military has put parts of Gaza City and Khan Younis under new enforced displacement orders amid fears that the country’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is preparing to order the full occupation of the Palestinian territory later this week.

Israel’s security cabinet is expected to meet on Thursday evening and sign off on plans for an expanded operation despite reported serious misgivings from senior military officers.

The order for Gaza – euphemistically described by the Israel Defense Forces as an “evacuation” – is the latest in dozens of such announcements that have displaced the vast majority of Gaza’s population, many on multiple occasions.

The orders came as the US president, Donald Trump, said any decision over expanded Israeli control in Gaza was up to Israel. “As far as the rest of it, I really can’t say. That’s going to be pretty much up to Israel,” he told reporters on Tuesday.

Many people had returned to Gaza City only relatively recently after long periods of displacement to find their homes war-damaged and looted, with even doors and windows stolen in some cases.

As Gaza’s health ministry reported that five more people had died from starvation in the coastal strip, which has been plunged into a devastating hunger crisis owing to Israel’s complete block on aid entering earlier this year, Jordan reported an aid convoy of 30 trucks that had left for Gaza had been attacked by militant Jewish settlers on entering Israel.

After the attack, the second in days, Jordan accused Israel of failing to act to prevent repeated assaults. “This requires a serious Israeli intervention and no leniency in dealing with those who obstruct these convoys,” said Jordan’s government spokesperson Mohammad al-Momani.