Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to meet with his security council about the future of Gaza. Netanyahu continues to face pressure over getting aid into the enclave. CBS News Middle East correspondent Courtney Kealy has more.

Jerusalem

Israel and Iran have agreed a ceasefire after a twelve day conflict. Meanwhile, Israel strikes in Gaza continue with the humanitarian crisis deepening.

Middle East Conflict

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to convene his security cabinet to discuss the future course of action in Gaza. Israeli media indicate that Netanyahu is considering a full military takeover of the Gaza Strip, as the Israeli military already controls a significant portion of the territory. 

The move follows growing international pressure on Israel to address severe hunger in Gaza, with Israel recently announcing a controlled entry of goods through local merchants. Meanwhile, hundreds of former Israeli security officials have urged U.S. President Trump to press Netanyahu to end the conflict and secure the release of hostages. The situation remains tense, with significant humanitarian concerns and ongoing diplomatic activity, including a visit by U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson to Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

What to expect from Netanyahu's security cabinet meeting about Gaza

Welcome back. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he will convene his security cabinet to discuss next stages of the war in Gaza. Israeli media reports Netanyahu is leaning towards a full takeover of the enclave. Now, the move comes, as Israel says, it will allow the gradual and controlled entry of goods into Gaza through local merchants. Israel has been under immense international pressure to ease hunger there in the enclave. CBS News reporter Courtney Keeley has more for us and joins us from Washington to talk about this. Good morning, Courtney. Tell us about this expected Security Council meeting. It sounds pivotal considering where we are at this stage of the war and the suffering. Absolutely. Now, we're waiting to hear if there is gonna be a Council meeting and what comes out of it. This is really Gaza on the brink, and the Israeli military and the Israeli leadership on the brink. What will they do next is the biggest question. And according to Israeli media, Prime Minister Netanyahu is considering going all in on Gaza. So three quarters of Gaza is now overseen by the Israeli military, and will they go in for that, the rest of it? Will they take over the whole of the Gaza Strip? That's the question. But meanwhile, we've heard in the news that their letter was written to President Trump by about 600 former top Israeli security officials urging President Trump to convince Netanyahu to pull back, to end the war, to stop the suffering, to get the hostages released. One former Shin Bet leader called Netanyahu's decision-making right now, if he goes all in into Gaza, a fantasy. Now, we know that the idea of all those, the phase one and phase two and phase three talks and ceasefire that had been in conversation since Biden was still in the last months of his presidency into Trump's presidency, that whole idea that there would be a ceasefire and then they would effectively draw down over phases, that's gone. The question is, could they do an all in? And what would that look like? Is Hamas decimated enough? Is their lack of leadership there enough for there to be some kind of ceasefire, some kind of aid going in? And it's all so critical now. We've seen the pictures of the hostages, Israeli hostages, emaciated. It's harrowing for the families and for Israel and anybody who's watching. And we've seen the starvation in Gaza also harrowing and horrible to watch. So this is critical timing. I was just about to ask you about that very difficult video that was released, but we also have House Speaker Mike Johnson in Israel. Why is he there? What is he up to? How might that add to the picture? Well, what he's doing is he's on a private trip, but he's the most high ranking current US official to go inside occupied territory of the West Bank, the illegal Israeli settlements. Ariel, which has been there for quite a long time and is quite controversial, it's near Ramallah. Now he made his own personal trip there. And according to Israeli reports, he made remarks. He also planted a vine. So it was a real support of what they refer to as Judea Samaria, the biblical name of the West Bank. It's part of the settler movement to establish, some call it a land grab, but the Israeli settlers believe that it's their divine right. So that was putting Mike Johnson on the side of the Israeli settler movement, which is considered illegal under international law, and according to the Fourth Geneva Convention. He also did other tourist kind of travel where he put a note, traditionally a prayer note into the Western Wall. This trip is going on. It's pretty lengthy. So we're gonna see more possibly in the next five days or so. Yeah, quite an interesting trip from a high-ranking U.S. official. Courtney Keeley joining us from our D.C. Bureau with all of that. Courtney, thank you.

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What to expect from Netanyahu's security cabinet meeting about Gaza

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