Cairo / Tel Aviv:
The Israeli army said on Wednesday that it launched the initial phase of an operation to seize the city of Gaza and called tens of thousands of reservists, while the government weighed a new cease-fire proposal to suspend the almost two years war.
“We have started the preliminary operations and the first stages of the attack on Gaza City, and now the TSAhal forces hold the outskirts of Gaza City,” said Brigadier General Effie Defrin, military spokesperson for Israel.
On Wednesday, a military civil servant said that reserve soldiers would not present themselves to service in September, an interval which gives mediators a little time to fill the gaps between Hamas and Israel about the terms of truce.
But after the Israeli troops clashed Wednesday with Hamas fighters in the Palestinian enclave, the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the Israeli chief had accelerated the calendar to take control of the Bastions of Hamas and defeat the resistance group.
Israeli statements have reported that Israel progressed with its plan to grasp the largest urban center in Gaza despite international criticism of an operation likely to force the movement of many other Palestinians.
Defrin said the troops were already operating on the outskirts of Gaza City, and said Hamas was now a “beaten and bruised” guerrilla force. “We will deepen Hamas’ attack in the city of Gaza, a bastion of government and military terror for the terrorist organization,” said the spokesman.
The Israeli army called tens of thousands of reservists on Wednesday in preparation for the expected assault on the city of Gaza, as the Israeli government considered a new truce proposal.
Hamas, in a statement on Telegram, accused Netanyahu of having hampered the ceasefire agreement in favor of the continuation of a “brutal war against innocent civilians in Gaza City”.
“Netanyahu’s contempt for mediators’ proposal … proves that he is the true obstructionist of any agreement.”
The Israel security firm, chaired by Netanyahu, approved a plan this month to extend the campaign to Gaza in order to take Gaza City, where Israeli forces waged a fierce urban war with Hamas at the first stadiums of war. Israel currently has around 75% of the Gaza Strip.
Many allies closest to Israel have urged the government to reconsider, but Netanyahu is under pressure from certain far-right members of its coalition to reject a temporary ceasefire, to continue the war and to continue the annexation of the territory.
An extreme right member, the Minister of Finance, Bezalel Smotrich, announced on Wednesday the final approval of an Israeli plan largely condemned for a draft settlement in the occupied West Bank which, according to him, would erase any prospect of a Palestinian state.
The war in Gaza began on October 7, 2023, when armed men led by Hamas attacked the Israeli communities in the south of the border, killing some 1,200 people, mainly civilians and taking 251 hostages, including children in Gaza, according to Israeli personalities.
More than 62,000 Palestinians have been killed in the air and land war of Israel in Gaza since then, according to the health officials of Gaza, who do not say how many activists, but said that most people killed were women and children.
Hamas has accepted a proposal presented by the Arab mediators for a 60-day ceasefire that would imply release some of the remaining hostages and release Palestinian prisoners to Israel.
The Israeli government, which said that the 50 remaining captives were to be released immediately, studies the proposal. Israeli authorities think that 20 hostages are still alive.
Many gas and foreign leaders fear that the assault on the city of Gaza will lead to major victims. Israel says that it will help civilians leaving the battle areas before the start of the assault.
Fighters of Hamas, clashes of Israeli troops
Israeli troops clashed on Wednesday with more than 15 Hamas fighters who emerged from tunnel wells and attacked with shots and anti -tank missiles near Khan Younis, south of Gaza City, seriously injuring a soldier and wounding two others, said an Israeli military official.
In a statement, the Al-Qassam brigades of Hamas confirmed that they had made a raid on Israeli troops southeast of Khan Younis and engaging Israeli troops with the chain at close range. He said that a fighter exploded among the soldiers, causing victims, during an attack that lasted several hours.
The military campaign of Israel caused a widespread devastation through the Gaza Strip, which before the war is home to around 2.3 million Palestinians. Many buildings, including houses, schools and mosques, have been destroyed, while the soldiers accused Hamas of operating from the civil infrastructure, which Hamas denies.
Israeli officials said the evacuation orders would be returned to residents of Gaza City before any force settled.
The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which oversees the only Catholic church in Gaza, located in Gaza City, said that it has received information according to which neighborhoods near the small parish began to receive evacuation notices.
Hamas said it would release all the remaining captives in exchange for the end of the war. Israel says he will not end the war before Hamas’ disarmament.
Opinion polls show strong Israeli public support to end the war if this guarantees the release of hostages, and a rally in such Aviv urging the government to conclude such an agreement attracted a huge crowd on Saturday.
A new Reuters / Ipsos survey on Americans has shown a majority of 58% believe that each country of the United Nations should recognize Palestine as a nation.
