Israel’s military on Wednesday said it would call up 60,000 reservists ahead of an expanded military operation in Gaza City. Many residents have chosen to stay despite the danger, fearing nowhere is safe in a territory facing shortages of food, water and other necessities.
Calling up extra military reservists is part a plan Israeli Minister of Defense Israel Katz approved to begin a new phase of operations in some of Gaza’s most densely populated areas, the military said.
The plan, which is expected to receive the chief of staff’s final approval in the coming days, also includes extending the service of 20,000 additional reservists who are already on active duty.
Photo: AFP
An Israeli military official, speaking on the condition of anonymity in line with military regulations, said troops would operate in parts of Gaza City where they have not been deployed yet and where Israel believes Hamas is still active.
Israeli troops in the the city’s Zeitoun neighborhood and in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, are already preparing the groundwork for the expanded operation, which could begin within days.
Gaza City is Hamas’ military and governing stronghold, and one of the last places of refuge in the northern Strip, where hundreds of thousands are sheltering. Israeli troops would be targeting Hamas’ vast underground tunnel network there, the official added.
Although Israel has targeted and killed much of Hamas’ senior leadership, parts of Hamas are actively regrouping and carrying out attacks, including launching rockets toward Israel, the official said.
Small groups were seen heading south from the city this week, but it is unclear how many others would voluntarily flee.
Some said they would wait to see how events unfold, with many insisting that nowhere is safe from airstrikes.
“What we’re seeing in Gaza is nothing short of apocalyptic reality for children, for their families, and for this generation,” Save the Children regional director Ahmed Alhendawi said. “The plight and the struggle of this generation of Gaza is beyond being described in words.”
The call-up comes amid a growing campaign by exhausted reservists who accuse the Israeli government of perpetuating the war for political reasons and failing to bring home the 50 remaining hostages, 20 of whom are believed to be alive.
The hostages’ families, and former army and intelligence chiefs have also expressed opposition to the expanded operation in Gaza City. Most of the families want an immediate ceasefire and worry that an expanded assault could imperil the surviving hostages.
Retired air force pilot Guy Poran, who has organized veterans campaigning to end the war, said many reservists are spent after repeated tours lasting hundreds of days and resent those who have not been called up.
Israel on Wednesday also gave final approval to a controversial settlement project east of Jerusalem in the occupied West Bank. The development in what is called E1 would effectively cut the territory in two.
Palestinians and rights groups said it could destroy hopes for a future Palestinian state.
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