Israel says it has taken first steps of military operation in Gaza City

Israel's military announced the first steps of an operation to take over Gaza City on Wednesday and called up tens of thousands of reservists while the government considered a new ceasefire proposal to pause nearly two years of war.

"We have begun the preliminary operations and the first stages of the attack on Gaza City, and already now Israeli forces are holding the outskirts of Gaza City," Brigadier General Effie Defrin, Israel's military spokesperson, told reporters.

A military official briefing reporters earlier on Wednesday said reserve soldiers would not report for duty until September, an interval that gives mediators some time to bridge gaps between Hamas and Israel over truce terms.

But after Israeli troops clashed with Hamas fighters in the Palestinian enclave on Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said the Israeli leader sped up the timeline for taking control of Hamas strongholds and defeating the militant group that triggered the conflict with an attack on Israel in October 2023.

The Israeli statements signaled Israel was pressing ahead with its plan to seize Gaza's biggest urban center despite international criticism of an operation likely to force the displacement of many more Palestinians.


Reuters