Israel's military chief has pushed back against Benjamin Netanyahu's plans to seize areas of Gaza it doesn't already control, three Israeli officials said, as the prime minister faces increasing pressure over the war both at home and abroad.

After 22 months of full-scale war, killing more than 60,000 Palestinians and forcing Gaza to the brink of famine, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reportedly preparing to defy international, domestic and military opinion by escalating the war on Gaza still further and ordering its full occupation.

In a closed-door briefing, Israeli defense officials accused UN agencies of legitimizing “false data” from Hamas and failing to protect the humanitarian aid system from systemic exploitation. The Israeli military claims that United Nations agencies operating in Gaza have enabled Hamas to hijack humanitarian aid and distort global perception,