Israel is pushing ahead with plans for a military takeover of Gaza City despite Hamas this week accepting a proposal for a 60-day ceasefire to end the 22-month war.
After defence minister Israel Katz approved the plans drawn up by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for the attack on Gaza City, call-up orders were sent to 60,000 reservists.
More will be drafted in the coming months, bringing a total of up to 130,000.
“Once the operation is completed, Gaza will change its face and will no longer look as it did in the past,” Mr Katz said.
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He said the attack on the last significant bastion of Hamas control in Gaza would take “months”.
The plan to assault Gaza City has been met with international criticism. More than 800,000 residents will be forced from their homes during the operation which will be carried out by six IDF divisions.
Most Gazans have been displaced multiple times and forced into densely packed areas along the Mediterranean coast, including in Gaza City.
Israel said it was in contact with international organisations to establish more field hospitals in southern Gaza.
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The attack is expected to begin next month once the expulsion of civilians is complete and the required number of soldiers are in place, but Israeli forces have already begun operating in and around Gaza City.
Attacks have taken place in the city’s Zeitoun neighbourhood and in Jabalia, north of Gaza City, in recent days and residents of Jabalia have already been told to leave their homes.
The International Red Cross Committee warned against Israel’s escalation on Wednesday, saying the transfer of civilians from Gaza City to the territory’s south would risk “worsening an already catastrophic situation”.
“The civilian population in Gaza is living in abhorrent conditions,” the committee said. “With more than 80 per cent of Gaza already impacted by evacuation orders, it is unimaginable that civilians could be compelled to move to an even smaller area.”
Israel is expected to formally respond before the weekend to the Gaza ceasefire proposal drawn up by Egyptian and Qatari mediators, which is almost identical to the draft presented by US mediator Steve Witkoff, earlier this year.
The majority of Israelis support a ceasefire that would bring about the return of the remaining 50 hostages, 20 of whom are believed to be alive.
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But prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu has set a number of conditions for a deal, including the release of all the hostages in a single exchange, the disarming of Hamas and guarantees that both Hamas and the Palestinian Authority will not be part of post-war Gaza.
The two far-right parties in Mr Netanyahu’s coalition oppose stopping the war, arguing that Israel must “destroy” Hamas militarily.
More than 62,000 have been killed in Gaza during the 22-month war according to the Hamas-run Gazan health ministry. Israel says 1,200 people were killed and 250 kidnapped and taken to Gaza in the Hamas-led October 7th, 2023 attack on southern Israel. – Additional reporting: Reuters
