Israel calls up 60,000 reservists for Gaza City invasion
World leaders have strongly condemned the Israeli security cabinet's decision to send forces into the city because of the potential to worsen the already catastrophic humanitarian situation for the Gazan people.
But Israel Katz, the Israeli defence minister, rejected the criticism and said on Wednesday that plans had been approved to push into the city, which would include extending the service of an additional 20,000 reservists currently serving.
'We now call on our heroic soldiers in the reserves, permanent and regular ranks, to stand up in order to bring about the release of the hostages, the subjugation of Hamas, and the end of the war on the terms set by Israel,' said Mr Katz.
'I instruct you to use all tools and all power to strike the enemy until it is subdued, and to protect IDF soldiers. This is the supreme consideration, and anyone who has any complaints should contact me.'
Hamas agreed on Monday to a 60-day ceasefire in return for releasing around half of the hostages it took in its raid on Israel on Oct 7. Israel's government spokesman hinted that it would reject the proposal, saying it was not interested in 'partial deals'.
The new plan to invade Gaza City will look to further pile pressure on Hamas to bend towards Israel's demands, but recruiting so many reservists after nearly two years of war could be difficult.
One mental health counsellor for the soldiers told The Telegraph: 'These guys are exhausted – they can't fight any more. They're broken.'
Many of those extending their service are already suffering from PTSD with little time to recover, said the counsellor. Some have been sent to military prisons for refusing to return to the fighting.
'We are literally running out of soldiers and the physical and mental toll is enormous,' the counsellor added, saying that at least 16 soldiers had committed suicide this year, unable to deal with the trauma.
According to Israeli army radio, the military is preparing for a 'prolonged operation of several months that will run into 2026'.
However, many in Israel have had enough of the conflict and have increased pressure on the government to end the war and bring home the hostages. Thousands of people carried out a nationwide strike across the country earlier this week, blocking major roads and refusing to work.
The call-up came as the country approved a controversial settlement project on Wednesday that would effectively divide the occupied West Bank, a move that Palestinians and human rights groups said could destroy plans 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 as a result of US pressure during previous administrations. Petitions against the development were rejected on Aug 6.
Construction of homes could begin in around a year, with 3,500 apartments planned to expand the settlement of Maale Adumim.
Bezalel Smotrich, Israel's far-Right finance minister, said: 'This reality finally buries the idea of a Palestinian state, because there is nothing to recognise and no one to recognise.
'Anyone in the world who tries today to recognise a Palestinian state will receive an answer from us on the ground.'
His comments followed announcements by Britain, France, Germany, Australia and Canada that they would recognise a Palestinian state.
Israel has stepped up air strikes this week despite the mounting pressure that it end the war and alleviate the suffering of the Gaza Strip's remaining inhabitants.
Already at least 62,064 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed in the fighting, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, which the United Nations considers reliable.
On Tuesday, Israel said it had killed the terrorist who kidnapped former hostage Yarden Bibas, the father of Kfir and Ariel and husband of Shiri, who were killed in Hamas captivity.
The IDF said on Tuesday that Jihad Kamal Salem Najjar died in an air strike on Aug 10. The terrorist kidnapped Mr Bibas, who was released in part of a temporary ceasefire deal in February, from his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz.
'A small part of my closure happened today,' he said in a statement, telling security forces: 'Thanks to you, he will be unable to hurt anyone else.'
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Reuters
31 minutes ago
- Reuters
Netanyahu says Israel to resume Gaza negotiations to end war and free hostages
CAIRO/JERUSALEM, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that Israel would immediately resume negotiations for the release of all hostages held in Gaza and an end to the nearly two-year-old war but on terms acceptable to Israel. It was Netanyahu's first response to a temporary ceasefire proposal put forward by Egypt and Qatar that Hamas accepted on Monday. Speaking to soldiers near Israel's border with Gaza, Netanyahu said he was still set on approving plans for defeating Hamas and capturing Gaza City, the densely populated centre at the heart of the Palestinian enclave. Thousands of Palestinians have left their homes as Israeli tanks have edged closer to Gaza City over the last 10 days. "At the same time I have issued instructions to begin immediate negotiations for the release of all our hostages and an end to the war on terms acceptable to Israel," he said, adding: "We are in the decision-making phase." Israel's plan to seize Gaza City was approved this month by the security cabinet, which Netanyahu chairs, even though many of Israel's closest allies have urged the government to reconsider. His latest remarks underscore the Israeli government view that any deal ensures the release of all 50 hostages captured in Israel in October 2023 and still held by militants in Gaza. Israeli officials believe around 20 are still alive. The proposal on the table calls for a 60-day ceasefire and the release of 10 living hostages held in Gaza by Hamas militants and of 18 bodies. In turn, Israel would release about 200 long-serving Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. Once the temporary ceasefire begins, the proposal is for Hamas and Israel to begin negotiations on a permanent ceasefire that would include the return of the remaining hostages. PALESTINIAN PROTESTS In a sign of growing despair at conditions in Gaza, residents staged a rare show of protest against the war on Thursday. Carrying banners reading "Save Gaza, enough" and "Gaza is dying by the killing, hunger and oppression," hundreds of people rallied in Gaza City in a march organised by several civil unions. "This is for a clear message: words are finished, and the time has come for action to stop the military operations, to stop the genocide against our people and to stop the massacres taking place daily," said Palestinian journalist Tawfik Abu Jarad during the protest. The Gaza health ministry said at least 70 people had been killed in Israeli fire in the enclave in the past 24 hours, including eight people in a house in Sabra suburb in Gaza City. A statement from the Palestinian Fatah movement said one of those killed in Sabra was a Fatah leader and former militant, along with seven members of his family. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. Even as the military begins its preparations to launch the assault on Gaza City, Israeli officials have indicated that there is time for a ceasefire to be reached. On Wednesday, the military called up 60,000 reservists in a sign the government was pressing ahead with the plan, despite international condemnation. Such a call-up is likely to take weeks. Netanyahu is under pressure from some far-right members of his coalition to reject a temporary ceasefire and instead to continue the war and pursue the annexation of the territory. Some Palestinian families in Gaza City have left for shelters along the coast, while others have moved to central and southern parts of the enclave, according to residents there. "We are facing a bitter, bitter situation, to die at home or leave and die somewhere else. As long as this war continues, survival is uncertain," said Rabah Abu Elias, 67, a father of seven. "In the news, they speak about a possible truce, on the ground, we only hear explosions and see deaths. To leave Gaza City or not isn't an easy decision to make," he told Reuters by phone. On Thursday, Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee wrote on X that the military had started making what he said were initial warning calls to medical and international organisations operating in Gaza's north, telling them that Gaza City residents should start to prepare to move out of the city and towards the south. Adraee shared a recording of what he said was an Israeli officer telling a Gazan health ministry official that hospitals in southern Gaza should also prepare to receive patients from medical facilities in the north, who will be forced to evacuate. A Gaza health ministry official confirmed the phone call had taken place. The ministry rejected the Israeli request to shift medical resources south, warning it would cripple the already devastated health system and endanger over a million residents. It urged international bodies to intervene and protect lifesaving care. Two more people have died of starvation and malnutrition in Gaza in the past 24 hours, the ministry said on Thursday. The new deaths raised the number of Palestinians who have died from such causes to 271, including 112 children, since the war began. Israel disputes malnutrition and starvation figures posted by the Gaza health ministry.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
I'm a legal refugee in Britain. So why am I always being treated like a criminal?
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Everything changed when I was almost killed in a deadly missile attack in a suburb of Aleppo I was only 17, and I realised that I wanted to live. So I escaped. First to Turkey, and then I travelled through Europe until I reached Calais. I hoped to reach the UK for two reasons. First, my auntie and cousins live here. After my mum died when I was 14, my auntie became a second mum to me. Second, I could speak English. The thing people don't understand about refugees is how tired we are from what we have been through. All I could think about was resting and being with my auntie. I spent 10 months in Calais trying to get to Britain. It was before small boat crossings become the main method of getting here, but the smugglers were there. We all hated them because they made it more difficult for us to cross the Channel without them. I tried every way I could: lorries, cargo trains, sneaking into the port to try to conceal myself on a ferry. At that time the French police were attacking migrants, as they do now. Sometimes they would be helpful and tell us things such as what time border guards changed shift – that was the best time to try to sneak on to a train or a lorry. Sometimes we were wished good luck by French and British border force and police; some saw us as humans, some saw us as criminals. When I made it to the UK in 2017, I thought I had finally found safety, but my experience with the Home Office reminded me that I hadn't. I always felt as if I was being treated like a criminal. I was required to report to a police station regularly, and it took more than two years to get a decision on my asylum case. Government aside, in that period British society was generally more welcoming towards people such as me. I could walk down the street in one of the UK's diverse cities and blend in. I met wonderful people who always made me feel as if I belonged. 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I speak to a lot of age-disputed young people who the Home Office insists are adults and have been placed in adult hotels. It is so obvious when I listen to them speak that they are children. They cry down the phone to me. They hate being in hotels, forced to share rooms with adults they don't know. Most refugees dream of returning home if it becomes safe to do so. I often think back to the secure time of my childhood. I grew up with the scents of jasmine and geranium in my garden. I have planted those things here to try to recreate a sense of home. No matter what I do here to contribute, I feel I will always be viewed as a criminal and someone at risk of being sent back to my country, however unsafe it is. Open, explicit racism seems to be on the rise in Britain. It starts with refugees like me and other migrants – but they will soon come for other people simply because they are not white, or belong to the 'wrong' religion, or their sexual orientation. Unless we act now, things are going to get worse. As told to Diane Taylor Ayman Alhussein is a Syrian film-maker based in London Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
The Independent
an hour ago
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