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Israel's decision to take over Gaza City may trigger another calamity in Gaza, a senior United Nations official said during an emergency session of the Security Council on Sunday, as delegates warned that this escalation will uproot a million people and exacerbate an already catastrophic humanitarian crisis. 

Miroslav Jenca, UN assistant secretary-general for Europe, Central Asia and the Americas, said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plan for "defeating Hamas" includes the disarmament of Hamas, the release of all hostages, the Gaza Strip's demilitarization, Israeli security control over the strip, and the establishment of an alternative civilian administration that is neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will also prepare to take control of Gaza City, while providing humanitarian assistance outside combat zones. 

"This is yet another dangerous escalation of the conflict," he warned, adding that Israel foresees the displacement of all civilians from Gaza City by October 7, affecting some 800,000 people, many of them previously displaced. Reports indicate that the IDF would then surround the city for three months. This would then reportedly be followed by an additional two months to seize control of central Gaza's camps and clear the entire area of Palestinian armed groups.