Israeli defense minister approves plan to seize Gaza City, recalls 60,000 reservists
Minister Israel Katz "approved the Israeli army's attack plan for Gaza City," the largest city in the Palestinian territory in the north, the ministry told AFP.
Katz also "approved the issuance of recall orders for the reservists needed to fulfill the mission" for about 60,000 men. The minister also approved "the humanitarian preparations for the evacuation" of the populations from Gaza City.
Israel said in early August that it was preparing to take control of Gaza City and neighboring refugee camps with the stated goal of defeating Hamas and freeing hostages abducted during the Palestinian Islamist movement's Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the war.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced late last week that he had adopted this new plan, which had been approved by his security cabinet, for this latest phase of operations in the Gaza Strip.
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11 hours ago
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Israelis are fleeing. Have given up on Natanyahu's war on Gaza, Analysis
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'Taboo' of Israeli emigration In total, 82,700 Israelis left the country in 2024, according to government figures , a number that exceeded the roughly 55,280 arrivals that same year, leaving Israel with a rare negative net migration rate. Frédérique Schillo, an Israel specialist and co-author of 'Sous tes pierres, Jérusalem' ( Beneath the Stones of Jerusalem ), calls it a 'phenomenon of unprecedented magnitude'. 'For a long time, the departure of Israelis was not studied, the authorities were reluctant to talk about it: the idea of Israel, a supposed refuge for Jews from all over the world, letting its children leave was absolutely taboo,' the Jerusalem-based historian explains. During his first term in the 1970s, former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin roundly mocked Israelis leaving the country, 'referring to 'wimps' and the 'fall of the weak'', Schillo notes. In a nation built on migration, the idea of leaving is particularly contentious. 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Mass demonstrations erupted across the country, gathering tens of thousands people for weekly protests over several months. Among them were Mordechai and his wife. But the national mood shifted after the October 7 attacks. 'Netanyahu really ramped up this right-wing engine … ,' Mordechai says. 'I started feeling open hostility towards me in Israel as a liberal.' 'I no longer felt safe. I felt like the climate made it very easy to attack left-wing protesters like us, even if they were Israeli citizens,' he recalls. As immigrants to Greece, 'in Athens we are isolated,' he says. 'But at least people are not openly hostile.' Peace activist Noga, who documented human rights violations in the Palestinian Territories for the B'Tselem centre, left Israel in September 2024. 'I lost faith,' she says simply. 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'Anti-Semitic tsunami' A similar trend can be seen in many Western countries. 'An anti-Semitic tsunami is sweeping the planet,' says Schillo. 'Israelis, even if they have chosen to move away from Israel, are still perceived as Israelis, as Jews: they are caught in the crossfire.' Mordechai is cautious in his new home country, rarely mentioning his country of origin and often lowering his voice when speaking Hebrew to his wife or children. While he was never a particularly proud Israeli, he says he now feels like it is 'something that I need to apologise for'. When people ask, 'Saying I'm from Israel is already sometimes considered a political or even violent act,' he says. 'But you can't help it … it's where I was born.' He is even careful speaking to other Israelis who may not share his critical views of Israel. Left-wing and liberal Israelis are currently experiencing a 'double isolation', he says. 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Macron denounces Netanyahu's 'abject' remarks that he fueled antisemitism
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