Israeli cabinet ministers approved the plan on Monday, hours after the Israeli military chief said the army was calling up tens of thousands of reserve soldiers.

It has captured swathes of territory and now controls roughly 50 per cent of Gaza.

The Israeli officials said the plan included the “capturing of the strip and the holding of territories”.

Plan to be implemented gradually

According to an internal memo circulated among aid groups and seen by The Associated Press, Israel told the United Nations it will use private security companies to control aid distribution in Gaza.

Privatising aid distribution

Under COGAT’s plan, all aid will enter Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing, letting approximately 60 trucks enter daily and distributing 20 kilograms of aid parcels directly to people on the day of entry.

According to the UN, at least 1.9 million people (or nine in ten people) across the Gaza Strip are internally displaced, including people who have been repeatedly displaced. Source: EPA / Mohammed Saber

The memo said the aid will be distributed at logistics hubs, which will be run by private security companies.

The fighting has displaced more than 90 per cent of Gaza’s population, often multiple times, and turned Gaza into an uninhabitable moonscape.

UN raises concerns

Meanwhile, Israeli strikes across Gaza continued overnight, killing at least 17 people in northern Gaza, according to hospital staff.