The Israeli military says it has started “preliminary actions” for a planned ground offensive to capture and occupy all of Gaza City, claiming troops already hold its outskirts.
Defence Minister Israel Katz approved the plan on Tuesday, which will go before Israel’s security cabinet later this week. Around 60,000 reservists are being called up in September to free active-duty forces for the operation.
IDF spokesperson Brigadier General Effie Defrin said two brigades were operating in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighbourhood, where tunnels and weapons had been uncovered, and a third brigade was active in Jabalia.
“We will deepen the damage to Hamas in Gaza City,” Defrin said. “We have begun the preliminary actions, and already now, IDF troops are holding the outskirts of Gaza City.”
Israel says civilians will be warned to evacuate south to minimise casualties. Gaza’s Hamas-run Civil Defence reported Israeli fire killed 25 people on Wednesday, including three children and their parents in the Shati refugee camp.
Agency spokesman Mahmoud Bassal called the situation “very dangerous and unbearable”.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) warned further displacement and fighting could cause a “catastrophic” humanitarian crisis for Gaza’s 2.1 million people, and said hostages still held by Hamas were also at risk.
“After months of relentless hostilities and repeated displacement, the people in Gaza are utterly exhausted,” the ICRC said in a statement, urging an immediate ceasefire.
Hamas accused Israel of blocking mediation efforts, with Reuters citing a statement that said Israel was pursuing a “brutal war against innocent civilians”.
Mediators Qatar and Egypt have proposed a 60-day truce and the release of about half of the remaining hostages. Hamas said it had accepted the deal, but Israel has demanded a comprehensive agreement covering all captives.
French President Emmanuel Macron warned Israel’s plan “can only lead to disaster for both peoples and risks plunging the entire region into a cycle of permanent war.”
Source: BBC.
