Israel intensified overnight strikes on Gaza City as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepared to meet ministers on Thursday to finalise plans for seizing the enclave’s largest urban centre, residents and officials said.
The military on Wednesday mobilised 60,000 reservists, signalling the government’s intent to move ahead despite foreign criticism. A military official said most call-ups would not be for combat and that the operational concept for taking Gaza City was still being shaped.
The mobilisation could take weeks, creating space for mediation on a new temporary ceasefire proposal accepted by Hamas but not yet answered by Israel. The plan envisages a 60-day truce and the release of 10 living hostages and 18 bodies from Gaza in exchange for about 200 long-serving Palestinian prisoners. Israel says all roughly 50 remaining hostages must be freed at once and believes around 20 are alive.
Frustration over conditions in Gaza spilled into a rare public protest on Thursday, with hundreds rallying in Gaza City carrying banners reading “Save Gaza, enough” and “Gaza is dying by the killing, hunger and oppression.”
The Gaza health ministry said at least 70 people were killed by Israeli fire in the past 24 hours, including eight in a house in the Sabra district. Fatah said one of the dead was a local leader and former militant, along with seven family members. The Israeli military did not immediately comment.
Gaza City seizure
A plan to capture Gaza City won security cabinet approval this month, according to Israeli officials. Netanyahu was expected to approve operational details on Thursday and intends to launch the assault “as soon as possible,” a source close to him said, adding that residents would be warned to leave.
Israeli tanks have edged closer to the city over the past 10 days. As shelling intensified in the Sabra and Tuffah neighbourhoods, thousands of people left their homes, some heading to coastal shelters and others moving south, residents said.
“We are facing a bitter situation — die at home or leave and die somewhere else,” said Rabah Abu Elias, 67, a father of seven. “They speak about a truce, but we only hear explosions.”
On Thursday, Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee said on X that initial warning calls were made to medical and international organisations in northern Gaza, advising that Gaza City residents should prepare to move south. He shared an audio clip he said was an Israeli officer telling a Gaza health official that southern hospitals should get ready to receive patients from northern facilities that would be forced to evacuate.
A Gaza health ministry official confirmed the call occurred but said authorities would not evacuate hospitals, arguing it would endanger hundreds of thousands of people.
The ministry said two more people died of hunger and malnutrition in the past 24 hours, bringing such deaths to 271, including 112 children, since the war began. Israel disputes the ministry’s figures.
Netanyahu is under pressure from far-right coalition partners to reject a ceasefire and continue the campaign, including steps toward annexation of territory. Israeli officials say that even as preparations continue for an assault on Gaza City, there remains a window for a truce to be secured.