After cloning a remote repository, a new feature of that project needs to be developed and integrated into the next major release. Which of the following is the first Git operation to run to begin…

`git merge` is used to combine changes from one branch into another, which is done *after* development on a feature branch is complete, not as the first step.

`git init` initializes a new Git repository, but the repository has already been initialized and cloned, so this command is unnecessary.

`git diff` shows changes between commits, working tree, or index, which is for reviewing code, not for initiating new development work.

Creating a new branch (`git branch <new-feature-name>`) is the standard first step when developing a new feature after cloning a repository. This practice ensures that development work for the feature is isolated from the main branch, preventing unintended interference and facilitating later integration through merging or rebasing.