Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz on Wednesday authorised a military plan to seize Gaza City and approved the mobilisation of nearly 60,000 reservists. The decision comes even as international mediators await Israel’s formal reply to a ceasefire framework backed by Hamas. The proposal accepted by Hamas outlines a 60-day truce, phased release of hostages, the freeing of Palestinian prisoners, and measures to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Mediator Qatar voiced guarded optimism, while Egypt said earlier this week that “the ball is now in Israel’s court.”
A senior Israeli official, however, maintained that any deal must include the release of all hostages, news agency AFP reported. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to comment publicly on the proposal, though he insisted last week that Israel would agree only to “an agreement in which all the hostages are released at once and according to our conditions for ending the war.”
Humanitarian Crisis In Gaza Deepens
On the ground, conditions remain dire. Mustafa Qazzaat, head of Gaza City’s emergency committee, described the situation as “catastrophic,” telling AFP that many families were fleeing their homes with “large numbers” left stranded on the streets without shelter.
Residents echoed the desperation. Aida Abu Madi, 48, who fled the Zeitoun neighbourhood with her family, told AFP: “I didn’t hear about Israel’s decision, but I saw my neighbours fleeing, so I fled too.” Another resident, Anis Daloul, 64, said the Israeli military had “destroyed most of the buildings in Zeitoun and displaced thousands of people.”
Escalation Amid Calls for Restraint
The Israeli security cabinet had already approved the Gaza City operation earlier in August, sparking concerns over worsening humanitarian fallout. Germany joined growing voices urging restraint, declaring it “rejects the escalation” of Israel’s campaign.
An Israeli military official briefed journalists that operations would proceed as “a gradual precise and targeted operation in and around Gaza City,” with activity already underway in Zeitoun and Jabalia. Gaza’s civil defence agency reported at least 25 deaths from Israeli strikes on Wednesday, including eight people allegedly killed near an aid site.
Gaza War’s Toll Continues to Mount
The conflict, now nearing two years, was ignited by Hamas’s October 2023 assault that left 1,219 people dead in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally from official data. Israel’s response has since killed at least 62,122 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from Gaza’s health ministry, which the United Nations deems credible.
Meanwhile, Israel has also approved a settlement project in the contested E1 area of the West Bank—long opposed by the international community as a threat to the prospects of a future Palestinian state.
