Tel Aviv: Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz has approved a military plan to seize control of Gaza City and authorised the mobilisation of nearly 60,000 reservists, his ministry confirmed on Wednesday.
The move intensifies pressure on Hamas just as mediators await Israel’s response to a fresh ceasefire proposal aimed at ending the nearly two-year-long war. Qatar, one of the mediators alongside Egypt and the United States, voiced cautious optimism, calling the latest plan “almost identical” to an earlier version already accepted by Israel. Egypt, too, said “the ball is now in Israel’s court.”
Hamas has agreed in principle to a framework that calls for a 60-day truce, a phased release of hostages, the freeing of Palestinian prisoners, and expanded humanitarian aid into Gaza. However, a senior Israeli official stressed that the government remains firm on its demand for the release of all hostages under its terms.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to formally respond but reiterated last week that Israel would only accept a deal involving the immediate release of all hostages and conditions that end the war. Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi said the group had “opened the door wide” to an agreement, but questioned whether Netanyahu would block it again.
Meanwhile, Gaza’s civil defence agency reported 48 Palestinian deaths from Israeli strikes on Tuesday, particularly in Gaza City’s Zeitoun and Sabra neighbourhoods. Spokesman Mahmud Bassal described the situation as “unbearable,” while the Israeli army insisted it was targeting Hamas infrastructure and taking “feasible precautions” to limit civilian harm.
In southern Gaza, the military said it struck a Hamas militant in Khan Yunis overnight. On the ground, Palestinians in northern Gaza were seen carrying sacks of flour through streets lined with rubble. Local resident Shawg Al-Badri described the flour as “white gold,” saying her family relied on it for survival.
The conflict erupted after Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel, which killed 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to official Israeli figures. Since then, Israel’s offensive has killed at least 62,064 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to Gaza’s health ministry, whose figures the United Nations deems credible.
With the humanitarian crisis worsening and pressure mounting both domestically and internationally, Israel’s decision to prepare for a full conquest of Gaza City could further complicate the fragile prospects for peace.
