Dem, GOP reps defend Netanyahu Gaza plan following Israel trip

A pair of Democratic and Republican representatives appeared to endorse Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plan for Israel to take over Gaza on Sunday.

Reps Rick Crawford, R-Ark., and Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., appeared on "Fox News Sunday" with host Shannon Bream after conducting a joint visit to Israel. Netanyahu's office has faced some criticism after the nation's security cabinet voted on Friday to allow the IDF to fully take over Gaza.

Crawford argued that such a plan would be safer for the remaining hostages in Hamas custody.

"I think they have a greater risk of dying under the current conditions than they would if the IDF takes the action that they're talking about," Crawford said of the hostages. "Basically, Hamas is starving them. People talk about the starvation in Gaza. The starvation is taking place at the hands of Hamas, and it's primarily directed at the hostages that they are holding."

NETANYAHU VOWS TO TAKE FULL CONTROL OF GAZA STRIP, 'LIBERATE' PEOPLE FROM HAMAS

Meanwhile, Gottheimer said a takeover by Israel is the "right answer," so long as the IDF involvement is truly temporary. He argued that Hamas must be crushed fully, but another governing structure must be put in place.

"The prime minister made it very clear … that there is no intent for long-term occupation or annexation, which I think is the right answer," he said. "You need to make sure you crush Hamas, you get humanitarian aid in, and then you get a new governing structure in."

ISRAEL SECURITY CABINET APPROVES PLAN TO OCCUPY GAZA CITY

Gottheimer added that he expects negotiations to lead to a "multinational Arab force" that keeps the peace in Gaza long-term.

Netanyahu and his security cabinet met through the night before announcing on Friday that Israel planned to retake control over the entire Gaza territory and eventually hand it off to friendly Arab forces opposed to Hamas.

"The Security Cabinet has approved the Prime Minister's proposal for defeating Hamas. The IDF will prepare for taking control of Gaza City while distributing humanitarian assistance to the civilian population outside the combat zones," Netanyahu announced on X.

The office said the Security Cabinet had adopted, by vote, five principles for concluding the war which include: the disarming of Hamas, the return of all hostages - living and deceased, the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip, Israeli security control in the Gaza Strip, and the establishment of an alternative civil administration that is neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority.

The prospect of a full military occupation of Gaza comes 20 years after Israel's full disengagement from the enclave when the government forcibly removed around 8,600 Jewish residents from the area. Shortly after, Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections and staged a violent coup to overthrow the Palestinian Authority and seize control of the Gaza Strip.

Fox News' Bradford Betz contributed to this report