JERUSALEM — Israel’s Cabinet voted Monday to seize the Gaza Strip for an unspecified amount of time in a move that could see Israel reestablish control over a territory it vacated two decades ago. Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005 after a decades-long occupation and then imposed a blockade on the territory along with Egypt.

An Israeli plan to seize the Gaza Strip and expand the military operation has alarmed many in the region. Palestinians are exhausted and hopeless, pummeled by 19 months of heavy bombing. Families of Israeli hostages still being held in Gaza are terrified that the possibility of a ceasefire is slipping further away.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said an expanded offensive against Palestinian militant group Hamas would be "intensive" after his security cabinet approved plans that may include seizing the Gaza Strip and controlling aid.

Donald Trump says the US will stop attacking the Houthis in Yemen and asserted that the Iran-backed group had agreed to stop targeting shipping in the Red Sea. "[The Houthis] just don't want to fight,

President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the U.S. will stop bombing the Houthis in Yemen after the Iran-aligned group agreed to stop interrupting important shipping lanes in the Middle East. (Reporting By Steve Holland and Jarrett Renshaw) Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.

President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that the US would “stop the bombings” against the Iran-backed Houthi rebel group in Yemen, after the Houthis told the US that “they don’t want to fight anymore.