Israeli Security Cabinet Convenes to Authorize Renewed Gaza Military Campaign After Hamas Misses Final Deadline

Israel's security cabinet held a formal session on May 10, 2026 to authorize the IDF to resume large-scale military operations in Gaza, following Hamas's definitive failure to meet the Board of Peace end-of-week disarmament deadline on May 9–10. The IDF's Southern Command had already prepared a comprehensive operational plan for a new major offensive, which a senior general described as potentially involving some of the most intensive operations of the entire war. Israeli PM Netanyahu stated Israel would 'pursue its war aims by force' given Hamas's categorical refusal to surrender its weapons within any timeline not conditioned on Israeli withdrawal and Palestinian statehood guarantees — terms Israel and the US flatly rejected. The Board of Peace confirmed it would not restrain Israel militarily if Hamas refused the 8-month phased disarmament framework. The US State Department expressed support for Israel's security needs while publicly urging civilian protection and maintenance of humanitarian corridors. Hamas's political bureau said it 'stood ready to absorb any aggression' and called the authorization a 'criminal act targeting the Palestinian people.' Gaza's 2.1 million residents, already enduring severe food and medicine shortages under the nominal ceasefire, braced for the resumption of aerial and ground combat. The October 2025 ceasefire framework — which had held for approximately 212 days despite 870+ Palestinian deaths — was effectively declared dead.