Netanyahu to hold press conference on expansionist Gaza operations

'Israeli' Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to hold a press conference with international journalists on Sunday at 4:30 PM Jordan time (GMT+3) in Jerusalem.

This will be Netanyahu’s first briefing to the global press since his security cabinet’s recent decision to intensify military operations in Gaza, including plans to take control of Gaza City.

Read more: “Israeli” army will “take control” of Gaza City: Netanyahu’s office

“Israel's” security cabinet has approved a plan proposed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the military to "take control" of Gaza City, his office said in a statement Friday.

Under the plan to "defeat" Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the “Israeli” army "will prepare to take control of Gaza City while distributing humanitarian assistance to the civilian population outside combat zones", it said.

Nearly two years into the war in Gaza, the “Israeli” prime minister faces mounting pressure at home and abroad for a truce to pull the Palestinian territory's more than two million people back from the brink of famine and to spare captives held by Hamas.

As he convened his security cabinet on Thursday, Netanyahu said “Israel” planned to take full control of Gaza but did not intend to govern it.

Ahead of the meeting, Netanyahu told US network Fox News that the government intended to seize complete control of the Gaza Strip.

He added that Israel did not want "to keep" the Gaza Strip, which “Israel” occupied in 1967 but withdrew troops and settlers from in 2005.