DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — An Israeli plan to seize the Gaza Strip and expand the military operation has alarmed many in the region. Palestinians are exhausted and hopeless, pummeled by 19 months of heavy bombing. Families of Israeli hostages still being held in Gaza are terrified that the possibility of a ceasefire is slipping further away.

Israel’s security cabinet voted to approve a new ground operation that includes occupying the Gaza Strip while also agreeing to a plan to take control over aid distribution.

The plan, which was approved in an early-morning vote by Israeli Cabinet ministers, calls for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to move to Gaza’s south.