The announcement appeared to stop short of saying explicitly that Israel would take full control of the Gaza Strip, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said was his intention earlier.
The Israeli military says it controls about 75 percent of Gaza. The coastal strip stretching from Gaza City in the north of the enclave to Khan Younis in the south is the main area that is outside Israeli control.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with a group of senior ministers on Thursday as the families of the hostages warn that moving into new areas could endanger the captives.
The apparent shift in tone comes as cease-fire negotiations have hit a wall and pressure is mounting on Israel over the hunger crisis in Gaza. But Israel and Hamas remain far apart on the terms of any deal.
Bezalel Smotrich described Gaza as an “inseparable part” of Israel, even as the Netherlands announced a ban on him and another hard line Israeli minister.
Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s finance minister, in the Parliament in Jerusalem last month. He said Tuesday that Israel was “closer than ever” to rebuilding Jewish settlements in Gaza.
Protesters gathered in May at the Shaar Hanegev junction near the Gaza border, holding photos both of Israeli hostages and of children killed in strikes in the enclave.
After 21 months of devastating conflict with Israel, Gaza’s most vulnerable civilians — the young, the old and the sick — are facing what aid groups say is impending famine.
Yousef, 6, who suffers from cerebral palsy and has severe malnutrition is held by his mother Samah Matar north of Gaza City on Thursday. He weighed 13kg before the war and now weighs 9kg.
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