Nations around the world have condemned Israel's plan to seize control of Gaza City, saying it would only worsen the conflict and lead to more bloodshed.
On Saturday, Australia joined Germany, Italy, New Zealand and the United Kingdom to "strongly reject" Israel's decision to launch a large-scale military operation in Gaza.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong warned the looming military operation risked violating international law and putting the lives of hostages and civilians in more danger.
"The plans that the government of Israel has announced risk violating international humanitarian law," the ministers said in the joint statement.
"Any attempts at annexation or of settlement extension violate international law."
The foreign ministers said the plans would aggravate the catastrophic humanitarian situation, endanger the lives of the hostages and further risk the mass displacement of civilians.
"We urge the parties and the international community to make all efforts to finally bring this conflict to an end now, through an immediate and permanent ceasefire," they said in the statement.
Israel's security cabinet on Friday approved a plan to take control of Gaza City, a move expanding military operations in the shattered Palestinian territory that drew strong rebukes internationally and at home.
The United Nations Security Council is set hold an emergency meeting on Saturday regarding Israel's plans to escalate the conflict.
Germany, a key European ally, announced it would halt exports of military equipment to Israel that could be used in Gaza.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Israel's plan was a "dangerous escalation" that risked worsening conditions for ordinary Palestinians.
However, US President Donald Trump's ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, said that some countries appeared to be putting pressure on Israel rather than on the militant group Hamas, whose deadly attack on Israel in 2023 ignited the war.
Criticism from the families of hostages
In Israel, families of hostages held by militants in Gaza, and opposition leaders blasted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a decision that they said would put hostages' lives at risk.
The Hostages Families Forum, which represents many families of captives in Gaza, said the pursuit of occupying Gaza means abandoning the hostages, all while ignoring public support to immediately end the war in a deal that releases the hostages.
It said in a statement that the security cabinet had chosen to "embark on another march of recklessness, on the backs of the hostages, the soldiers, and Israeli society as a whole".
Israeli officials believe about 20 hostages remain alive in Gaza, among the bodies of 30 others.
Far-right allies in Netanyahu's coalition have been pushing for a total takeover of Gaza as part of his vow to eradicate Hamas militants, though the military has warned this could endanger the lives of remaining hostages held by militants.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid called the decision to send Israeli forces into Gaza City a disaster, saying it defied the advice of military and security officials.
Netanyahu told Fox News on Friday that the military intended to take control of all of Gaza.
"We don't want to keep it. We want to have a security perimeter. We don't want to govern it. We don't want to be there as a governing body," Netanyahu said.
He said Israel wanted to hand over the territory to Arab forces that would govern it. He did not elaborate on the governance arrangements or which Arab countries could be involved.
Overtaking 'the heart of Gaza'
The announcement from the prime minister's office early on Friday, after Thursday's security cabinet meeting, said the military would take Gaza City, but did not say if Israeli forces would take all of the enclave.
Israel's cabinet is expected to endorse the Gaza City plan.
The military has said that it controls around 75 per cent of Gaza. Amir Avivi, a retired Israeli brigadier general, estimated that if the military did take Gaza City, it would give Israel control of about 85 per cent of the strip.
"Gaza City is the heart of Gaza. It's really the centre of government. It has always been the strongest and even in the eyes of Hamas, the fall of Gaza City is pretty much the fall of Hamas," Avivi said.
"Taking over Gaza City is a game changer."
Source: SBS News
UN says plan must be 'immediately halted'
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was among foreign leaders urging Israel to reconsider its decision to advance into Gaza City.
Regional power Saudi Arabia, which has said it could not normalise ties with Israel without the establishment of a Palestinian state, condemned any move to occupy Gaza.
The country's foreign ministry wrote on X that Riyadh "categorically condemns its persistence in committing crimes of starvation, brutal practices, and ethnic cleansing against the brotherly Palestinian people".
In recent weeks, Britain, Canada and France said they could recognise a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly next month.
UN human rights chief Volker Turk said the plan must be "immediately halted". Israel should instead allow "the full, unfettered flow of humanitarian aid" and Palestinian armed groups must unconditionally release hostages, he added.
'Two-state solution is the only pathway'
On Friday, Wong called on Israel "not to go down" the path it was on, saying it would only worsen the "humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza".
Wong said permanent forced displacement was a violation of international law.
"With international partners, Australia maintains our call for a ceasefire, the return of hostages and aid to flow unimpeded," Wong said.
"A two-state solution is the only pathway to secure an enduring peace — a Palestinian state and the State of Israel, living side-by-side in peace and security within internationally-recognised borders."
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Australia is urging Israel not to "go down the path" of a full occupation of Gaza. Source: AAP / Mick Tsikas
Germany halts military exports to Israel
Among several countries that denounced the plan, Germany said it would halt the export of military equipment to Israel, which could be used in the Gaza Strip.
On Friday, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said it was "increasingly difficult to understand" how the Israeli military plan would help achieve legitimate aims and added: "Under these circumstances, the German government will not authorise any exports of military equipment that could be used in the Gaza Strip until further notice."
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the plan was "wrong" and added that "this action will do nothing to bring an end to this conflict or to help secure the release of the hostages" but would "only bring more bloodshed".
China said in a statement that Gaza "belongs to the Palestinian people and is an inseparable part of Palestinian territory", while Türkiye urged global pressure to halt the plan.
"We call on the international community to fulfil its responsibilities to prevent the implementation of this decision, which aims to forcibly displace Palestinians from their own land," the Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement.
'More destruction and suffering'
Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said: "We firmly condemn the decision of the Israeli government to escalate the military occupation of Gaza. It will only cause more destruction and suffering."
Total control of the territory would reverse a 2005 decision by Israel by which it withdrew Israeli citizens and soldiers from Gaza, while retaining control over its borders, airspace and utilities. Right-wing parties blame that withdrawal decision for the militant Palestinian group Hamas gaining power there in a 2006 election.
It was unclear whether Netanyahu was foreseeing a prolonged takeover or a short-term operation aimed at dismantling Hamas and freeing Israeli hostages.
A UN commission of inquiry found in 2022 the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory was unlawful. Then-Israeli prime minister Yair Lapid disputed the claim.
A 'new war crime'
Hamas called Israel's plans to take control of Gaza City a "new war crime".
"The decision to occupy Gaza confirms that the criminal Netanyahu and his Nazi government do not care about the fate of their captives," the group said in a statement.
"They understand that expanding the aggression means sacrificing them."
Arab countries would "only support what Palestinians agree and decide on," a Jordanian official source told Reuters, adding that security in Gaza should be handled through "legitimate Palestinian institutions".
Earlier this year, Israel and the United States rejected an Egyptian proposal, backed by Arab leaders, that envisaged the creation of an administrative committee of independent, professional Palestinian technocrats entrusted with the governance of Gaza after the war.
Opinion polls show most Israelis want the war to end in a deal that would result in the release of the remaining hostages.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. US President Donald Trump declined on Wednesday to say whether he supported or opposed a potential full military takeover of Gaza by Israel.
Israel has bombarded Gaza since Hamas' October 7 attack in 2023, in which more than 1,200 people, including an estimated 30 children, were killed and over 200 hostages taken, according to the Israeli government. More than 60,430 people have been killed in Gaza since October 7, according to the health ministry in Gaza.
The October 7 attack was a significant escalation in the long-standing conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Israel has denied that the population in Gaza is facing, or succumbing to, starvation.
