DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday he will give final approval for takeover of Gaza City while also restarting negotiations with Hamas aimed at returning all of Israel’s remaining hostages and ending the war on Israel’s terms.
The wide-scale operation in Gaza City could start within days after Netanyahu grants final approval at a meeting with senior security officials. Hamas said earlier this week that it had agreed to a ceasefire proposal from Arab mediators, which, if accepted by Israel, could forestall the offensive.
The Israeli military began calling medical officials and international organizations in the northern Gaza Strip to encourage them to evacuate to the south ahead of the expanded operation. The military plans to call up 60,000 reservists and extend the service of 20,000 more.
Israeli strikes meanwhile killed at least 36 Palestinians across Gaza on Thursday, according to local hospitals. A renewed offensive could bring even more casualties and displacement to the territory, where the war has already killed tens of thousands and where experts have warned of imminent famine.
Many Israelis fear it could also doom the remaining 20 or so living hostages taken by Hamas-led militants in the Oct. 7, 2023 attack that ignited the war.
Gaza City operation could begin in days
Israeli troops have already begun more limited operations in the city’s Zeitoun neighborhood and the built-up Jabaliya refugee camp, areas where they have carried out several previous major operations over the course of the war, only to see militants later regroup.
The military says it plans to operate in areas where ground troops have not yet entered and where it says Hamas still has military and governing capabilities.
So far, there has been little sign of Palestinians fleeing en masse, as they did when Israel carried out an earlier offensive in Gaza City in the opening weeks of the war. The military says it controls around 75% of Gaza and residents say nowhere in the territory feels safe.
Hundreds gathered for a rare protest in Gaza City on Thursday against the war and Israel’s plans to support the mass relocation of Palestinians to other countries.
Women and children held placards reading “Save Gaza” and “Stop the war, stop the savage attack, save us,” against a backdrop of destroyed buildings as Palestinian music played. Unlike in previous protests, there were no expressions of opposition to Hamas.
“We want the war on Gaza to stop. We don’t want to migrate. Twenty-two months … it’s enough. Enough death. Enough destruction,” said Bisan Ghazal, a woman displaced from Gaza City.
