British News Agency

Protesters supporting the hostages took to the streets of Jerusalem to express their anger over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plan to fully occupy Gaza City and marched toward his residence.

Israel's decision to expand its war in Gaza — a major escalation of the conflict — drew condemnation from the UN as well as from the UK, France, Australia, Turkey, Germany, Finland, and Canada.

The UN warned that a full-scale military intervention would have “catastrophic consequences” for Palestinian civilians and Israeli hostages held in Gaza.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said in a statement that the Israeli government's intentions constitute a crime, emphasizing the importance of suppressing them before they materialize.

Abbas also stressed the urgent need to establish a Palestinian state capable of taking responsibility for Gaza. The Israeli Security Council's five-point plan to end the war in Gaza envisions the creation of a new government excluding representatives from Hamas and Fatah.

The Palestinian Authority, which has limited control over the occupied West Bank and was established as a provisional body for a Palestinian state, has long been uninvolved in Gaza's affairs.

The plan, approved by the Israeli security cabinet, lists five “principles” for ending the war: disarming Hamas, returning all hostages, demilitarizing the Gaza Strip, taking control of the region's security, and establishing an “alternative civilian administration that is neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority.”