Khamenei says Iran will strike back if US hits again, in first remarks since ceasefire
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Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Israel calls up tens of thousands of reservists before new Gaza offensive
TEL AVIV/JERUSALEM/CAIRO, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Israel's military called up tens of thousands of reservists on Wednesday in preparation for an expected assault on Gaza City, as the Israeli government considered a new proposal for a ceasefire after nearly two years of war. The call-up signals Israel is pressing ahead with its plan to take control of Gaza's biggest urban hub despite international criticism of an operation likely to force the displacement of many more Palestinians. But a military official briefing reporters said reserve soldiers would not report for duty until September, a move that gives mediators some time to bridge gaps between the Palestinian militant group Hamas and Israel over ceasefire terms. The official said that as part of planning for a new offensive in Gaza there would be five divisions operating in the enclave but most reservists were not expected to serve in combat in Gaza City. "We will be moving into a new phase of combat, a gradual, precise and targeted operation in and around Gaza City, which currently serves as Hamas' main military and governing stronghold," the official said. Israel's security cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, approved a plan this month to expand the campaign in Gaza, with the aim of seizing Gaza City. Many of Israel's closest allies have urged the government to reconsider but Netanyahu is under pressure from some far-right members of his coalition to reject a temporary ceasefire, continue the war and pursue the annexation of Gaza. The war began on October 7, 2023 when gunmen led by Hamas attacked southern Israeli communities, killing some 1,200 people, mainly civilians, and taking 251 hostages including children into Gaza. Over 62,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's campaign, according to Gaza health officials, who do not say how many were militants but have said most of those killed have been women and children. Hamas has accepted a proposal put forward by Arab mediators for a 60-day ceasefire that would involve releasing some of the hostages and freeing Palestinian prisoners in Israel. The Israeli government, which has said all the 50 remaining hostages must be released at once, is studying the proposal. Israeli authorities believe that 20 hostages are still alive. Many Gazans and foreign leaders fear an assault on Gaza City would cause significant casualties. Israel says it will help civilians leave battle zones before any assault begins. Israel's military, which is continuing its campaign in Gaza, struck Gaza City's eastern suburbs overnight in a bombardment which Gaza health authorities said killed at least 19 people. "This time if there is no deal, I am afraid we will all die," Samir Abu Basel, 45, a father of four, told Reuters by telephone from Gaza. "To die here or die wherever they would push us to, all the same. We have lost faith in this world, in our leaders too." Israel's military campaign has caused widespread devastation across the Gaza Strip, which before the war was home to about 2.3 million Palestinians. Many buildings, including homes, schools and mosques have been destroyed, while the military has accused Hamas of operating from within civilian infrastructure. Most Gazans have been displaced multiple times and forced into densely packed areas along the Mediterranean coast, including in Gaza City. Israeli officials have said evacuation orders would be issued to Gaza City residents before any force move in. The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which oversees Gaza's only Catholic Church, located in Gaza City, said it had received reports that neighbourhoods near the small parish had started to receive evacuation notices. Hamas, which has ruled Gaza for almost two decades, has been severely weakened by the war. The Israeli military says it now controls about 75% of Gaza and that Hamas has been reduced to a guerrilla force. The Israeli military official who briefed reporters on Wednesday said Hamas had been trying to regroup and reform in Gaza City in a more organised manner, but gave no evidence to support the assertion. Polls show strong Israeli public support for ending the war if it ensures the release of the hostages, and a rally in Tel Aviv urging the government to pursue such a deal drew a huge crowd on Saturday. Hamas has said it would release all remaining hostages in exchange for an end to war. Israel says it will not end the war before the Islamist militant group disarms.
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Israel calls up 60,000 reservists ahead of Gaza City offensive
The Israeli military says it is calling up about 60,000 reservists ahead of a planned ground offensive to capture and occupy all of Gaza City.A military official said the reservists would report for duty in September and that most of the troops mobilised for the offensive would be active-duty added that troops were already operating in the Zeitoun and Jabalia areas as part of the preparations for the plan, which Defence Minister Israel Katz approved on Tuesday and will be put to the security cabinet later this of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza City are expected to be ordered to evacuate and head to shelters in southern Gaza. Many of Israel's allies have condemned the plan, while the UN and other non-governmental organisations have warned that another offensive and further mass displacement will have a "horrific humanitarian impact" after 22 months of government announced its intention to conquer the entire Gaza Strip after indirect talks with Hamas on a ceasefire and hostage release deal broke down last mediators are trying to secure an agreement before the offensive begins and have presented a new proposal for a 60-day truce and the release of around half of the 50 hostages still held in Gaza, which Hamas said it had accepted on has not yet submitted a formal response, but Israeli officials insisted on Tuesday that they would no longer accept a partial deal and demanded a comprehensive one that would see all the hostages released. Only 20 of the hostages are believed to be alive. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that orders calling up 60,000 reservists were issued on Wednesday as part of the preparations for "the next phase of Operation Gideon's Chariots" - the offensive that it launched in addition, 20,000 reservists who had already been called up would receive a notice extending their current orders, it Israeli military official said senior commanders had approved the plan for a "gradual" and "precise" operation in and around Gaza City, and that the chief of staff, Lt Gen Eyal Zamir, was expected to finalise them in the coming divisions are expected to take part in the offensive, according to the Haaretz newspaper quoted Defence Minister Katz as saying on Tuesday: "Once the operation is completed, Gaza will change its face and will no longer look as it did in the past."He also reportedly approved a plan to "accommodate" Gaza City residents in the south of the territory, including the coastal al-Mawasi area, where the military has begun establishing additional food distribution points and field Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the military's objectives are to secure the release of all the hostages held by Hamas and "complete the defeat" of the Palestinian armed IDF also announced on Wednesday that the Givati Brigade had resumed operations in the northern town of Jabalia and on the outskirts of Gaza City, where it said they were "are dismantling military infrastructures above and below ground, eliminating terrorists, and consolidating operational control".It said civilians were being told to move south for their safety "to mitigate the risk of harm".A spokesman for Gaza's Hamas-run Civil Defence agency, Mahmoud Bassal, told AFP news agency on Tuesday that the situation was "very dangerous and unbearable" in the city's Zeitoun and Sabra neighbourhoods, where he said "shelling continues intermittently".The agency said Israeli strikes and fire had killed 21 people across Gaza on news agency Wafa reported that three children and their parents were killed when a house in the Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City, was bombed. UN agencies and NGOs have warned of the humanitarian impact of a new offensive."The Israeli plan to intensify military operations in Gaza City will have a horrific humanitarian impact on people already exhausted, malnourished, bereaved, displaced, and deprived of basics needed for survival," they said in a joint statement on Monday."Forcing hundreds of thousands to move south is a recipe for further disaster and could amount to forcible transfer."They also said the areas of the south where displaced residents were expected to move were "overcrowded and ill-equipped to sustain human survival at scale"."Southern hospitals are operating at several times their capacity, and taking on patients from the north would have life-threatening consequences."The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken least 62,122 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health of Gaza's population has also been displaced multiple times; more than 90% of homes are estimated to be damaged or destroyed; the healthcare, water, sanitation and hygiene systems have collapsed; and UN-backed global food security experts have warned that the "worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out" due to food shortages.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Israel to call up 50,000 reservists before planned offensive on Gaza City, says Israeli military official – Middle East crisis live
Update: Date: 2025-08-20T11:24:15.000Z Title: Content: Israel gave final approval Wednesday for a controversial settlement project in the occupied West Bank that would effectively cut the territory in two, and that Palestinians and rights groups say could destroy hopes for a future Palestinian state. Settlement development in E1, an open tract of land east of Jerusalem, has been under consideration for more than two decades, but was frozen due to U.S. pressure during previous administrations. The international community overwhelmingly considers Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank to be illegal and an obstacle to peace. Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a former settler leader, cast the approval as a rebuke to Western countries that announced their plans to recognize a Palestinian state in recent weeks. 'The Palestinian state is being erased from the table not with slogans but with actions,' he said on Wednesday. 'Every settlement, every neighborhood, every housing unit is another nail in the coffin of this dangerous idea.' Update: Date: 2025-08-20T11:22:22.000Z Title: Israeli army to call up reservists before planned offensive to take Gaza City, says military official Content: Good afternoon, Israel will call up 50,000 reservists before a planned offensive to take Gaza City but most forces that would operate in the Gaza Strip's largest urban centre would be active duty soldiers, an Israeli military official said on Wednesday. The call-up notices could be sent in the coming days, with reservists to report for duty in September, the military official said. 'Most of the troops that will be mobilised in this new stage will be active duty and not reservists,' said the official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity. It comes as Israel is studying Hamas' response to a proposal for a 60-day ceasefire and release of half the hostages still held in Gaza, two Israeli officials said on Tuesday, although one source reiterated that all Israeli captives must be freed for the war to end. Elsewhere: Prime minister Anthony Albanese said on Wednesday that he treats leaders of other countries with respect after his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu attacked him over his decision to recognise a Palestinian state. 'I don't take these things personally, I engage with people diplomatically. He has had similar things to say about other leaders,' Albanese said during a media briefing. A 58% majority of Americans believe that every country in the United Nations should recognise Palestine as a nation, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll, as Israel and Hamas considered a possible truce in the nearly two-year-long war. 33% of respondents did not agree that UN members should recognise a Palestinian state and 9% did not answer. German prosecutors have charged a Russian national they suspect of planning an attack on the Israeli embassy in Berlin and of trying to join militant organisation Islamic State, they said on Wednesday. Prosecutors believe the accused, identified only as Akhmad E. in line with German privacy rules, obtained instructions from the Internet on how to make explosives but the plan failed as he could not get the components he needed.
