Israel says it has taken first steps of military operation in Gaza City, ‘IDF holding positions on the outskirts'

Indian Express

a day ago

Israel's military on Wednesday announced that it has taken the first steps in the planned operation to take over Gaza City.
'We have begun the preliminary operations and the first stages of the attack on Gaza City, and already now IDF forces are holding the outskirts of Gaza City,' Brigadier General Effie Defrin, Israel's military spokesman, said.
Following a clash with Hamas south of Khan Younis in the strip on Wednesday, he said: 'We will deepen the attack on Hamas in Gaza City, a stronghold of governmental and military terror for the terrorist organization.'
'While operating in Gaza, we are also continuing offensive and defensive activities on the Lebanese border, in Syria and in Judea and Samaria. We continue to monitor developments in Iran,' Defrin said further.
Earlier in the day, the Israeli military said that Defence Minister Yoav Gallant had approved plans for a new phase of operations and 60,000 reservists would be called up.
According to the military, the reserve soldiers would not report for duty until September, an interval that was expected to give the mediators some time to bridge gaps between Hamas and Israel over truce terms.
However, after Israeli troops clashed with Hamas fighters in the Palestinian enclave on Wednesday, Benjamin Netanyahu's office said the Prime Minister sped up the timeline for taking control of Hamas strongholds and defeating the militant group.
Israel has been under increasing international criticism, including from some of its closest allies, over its plan to seize Gaza's biggest urban centre, an operation likely to force the displacement of many more Palestinians.
Israel currently holds about 75% of the Gaza Strip and Netanyahu has said that his country was not looking to occupy the region, but to 'free it from Hamas'.
Before the war broke out, the Gaza Strip was home to about 2.3 million Palestinians, including many who were displaced in previous conflicts. Israel has accused Hamas of operating from within civilian infrastructure in Gaza including including homes, schools, hospitals and mosques, many of which have been destroyed since the conflict started nearly two years ago.
The war in Gaza began on October 7, 2023, as a retaliation for the Hamas cross-border terror attack in Israel that left around 1,200 people dead.
Over 62,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's air and ground war in Gaza since then, according to Gaza health officials.
Various international efforts, including those by Israel's close allies and Arab nations, have so far failed to end the killings and free around 50 hostages, who are still being held in Gaza by Hamas.
On Monday, Hamas accepted a proposal put forward by Arab mediators, Egypt and Qatar for a 60-day ceasefire that would involve releasing some of the remaining hostages and freeing Palestinian prisoners in Israel.
The Israeli government, which insists on the release of all the 50 remaining hostages at once, has not commented on the ceasefire deal, saying it is studying the proposal. Israeli authorities believe that 20 hostages are still alive.