Commercial satellite images show the Israeli military building up troops and equipment near the border with Gaza that would support a possible new ground invasion of the Palestinian enclave, according to three U.S. officials and a former official who viewed the imagery, reported NBC News.

The images show troop movements and formations that the four sources recognized as signs of an imminent major ground operation.

Israel’s security Cabinet approved a plan early Friday to take over Gaza City, the Associated Press reported, citing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office. The plan falls short of the full occupation of Gaza that Netanyahu had discussed earlier.

If there is a new military operation, it could include efforts to retrieve hostages held by Hamas and expand humanitarian assistance in areas outside the fighting, the three U.S. officials and a person briefed on Israeli discussions said.

Israeli troops have been conducting ground operations in Gaza since Oct. 27, 2023, with pauses during two ceasefires, killing more than 60,500 civilians, mostly women and children.

Netanyahu said Thursday on Fox News that Israel intended to take control of all of Gaza. “We intend to, in order to assure our security, remove Hamas there, enable the population to be free of Gaza and to pass it to civilian governance that is not Hamas and not anyone advocating the destruction of Israel. That’s what we want to do.”

The troop buildup comes a time when starvation has reached unparalleled levels in Gaza. Trump himself told Fox News, during a trip to Scotland, that he had seen images of children in Gaza who “look very hungry,” that there is “real starvation” there and that “you can’t fake that.”