Netanyahu is expected to ask the cabinet to approve plans for the Isreal Defense Forces to gradually seize Gaza City, the largest city in the territory, the Israeli official told ABC News. The cabinet is expected to meet at about 6 p.m. local time, or 11 a.m. ET, the source said.

Israel’s security cabinet meets to plan next Gaza war steps, while separate political voices push to resettle Jewish communities in the Gaza Strip nearly 20 years after withdrawal.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was due to meet with a small group of senior ministers on Thursday to discuss plans for the military to take control of more territory in Gaza, despite mounting criticism at home and abroad over the nearly two-year-old war there.