Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to convene his high-level security cabinet on Thursday to discuss expanding the war against Hamas, including the potential full military occupation of the Gaza Strip.

The prospect comes against the backdrop of the 20th anniversary of Israel’s full disengagement from the enclave, as calls for resettlement — once confined to the political fringes — have entered the mainstream, including within the government, particularly in the wake of Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre.

Rebuilding Jewish communities in Gaza would be “a historic correction to a national injustice,” Yitzhak Wasserlauf, Israel’s minister for the Development of the Periphery, the Negev and the Galilee, told Fox News Digital.

Amidror, a distinguished fellow with the Jewish Institute for National Security of America, said that Israel must in the long-term remain solely responsible for security in Gaza, citing past failures when control was transferred to the Palestinians after the Oslo Accords. He argued that reestablishing settlements could complicate that mission, asserting that security should remain solely in the hands of the IDF.

Religious Zionism lawmaker Simcha Rothman told Fox News Digital that “If we are trying to achieve peace, any agreement or situation in which Jews cannot live in their ancient homeland is not just,” but acknowledged it is not one of Israel’s official war objectives. “While resettling Gaza is the right thing to do, it is not part of the current effort.”

Maj. Gen. (ret.) Amos Yadlin, former head of IDF Military Intelligence, reiterated that resettling Gaza is not part of the Israeli government’s declared war objectives.

“If Israel needs to reoccupy Gaza militarily, it should be to destroy Hamas and bring back the hostages — not to annex Gaza as part of Israel. There are 2 million Palestinians in Gaza, maybe more,” Yadlin, who is currently president of MIND Israel, told Fox News Digital.

Memorials at the site of the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attack on the Supernova music festival near Kibbutz Re’im, Israel, on Monday, May 27, 2024. (Kobi Wolf/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“Israel does not want to rule over them or provide for all their needs. It would cost billions and alter the demographic balance. This idea is being pushed by right-wing elements in the government, and even the prime minister and his party do not support it,” he said.

Daniella Weiss, general director of the Nachala Settlement Movement, told Fox News Digital that the aftermath of Hamas’s October 7 attack signals the start of a new era. “I think we should go much further than what existed in 2005. Back then, we were 10,000 people in Gaza. Our movement, Nachala, has proposed a plan for 1.2 million Jews in Gaza,” Weiss said.

Israelis march from Sderot toward the northern border of Gaza, calling for the re-establishment of settlements in the territory, on July 30, 2025 in Israel. (Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu via Getty Images)

She said her organization is already taking tangible steps to begin the process, “We’ve organized six groups of young families—more than 1,000 families—who are willing to move to Gaza now,” she said.

While Weiss expressed regret that the Israeli government has not included Jewish resettlement in its official war objectives, she insisted that in Israel’s democracy, public pressure can influence government policy.

“The basic truth is that the Gaza area is part of the western Negev,” she said. “Historically, it was part of the area of the tribe of Yehuda. To turn your back on that is wrong.”