India, Aug. 8 -- Israel's security cabinet on Friday approved Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition plan to take control of Gaza City and eradicate Hamas militants.

Netanyahu's office said in a statement that the military "will prepare to take control of Gaza City while providing humanitarian aid to the civilian population outside the combat zones", according to Reuters.

The decision to "defeat Hamas" comes after 22 months of fighting between Israel and the Palestinian militant group that has killed tens of thousands of Gazans and sparked UN famine warnings.

The Hamas-run health ministry says more than 61,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war, and the flood of pictures of starving Palestinians in recent weeks has led a g...