Israel has intensified its military build-up with tens of thousands of reservists called to duty ahead of a planned offensive to capture Gaza City, nearly two years into the ongoing war in the Palestinian territory.
The Israeli Defence Ministry confirmed on Tuesday that about 60,000 reservists had been authorised for mobilisation, with an estimated 40,000 already responding to the first wave of call-up orders. Defence Minister Israel Katz, speaking in Jerusalem, praised the reservists for leaving “their homes, families and jobs” to help ensure the release of hostages and “neutralisation of Hamas.”
The military said it was preparing for “expanded combat operations” as bombardments on the city’s outskirts intensified. Gaza City, home to nearly one million residents, has been declared a famine zone by the United Nations.
On the ground, Palestinians expressed fear and despair over the looming assault. “There is no place for us to go, and no means to get there,” said 60-year-old Amal Abdel-Aal, displaced and living in a tent in western Gaza.
“We are exhausted physically and mentally. We have come to wish for death.”
Military spokesman Avichay Adraee warned civilians via social media that combat operations would soon expand into Gaza City. He urged residents to move toward Al-Mawasi in the south, designated as a humanitarian zone. However, UN officials report that conditions there remain dire, with little access to food, water, or medical services, and many areas overcrowded.
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The International Committee of the Red Cross has cautioned that any attempt to evacuate the city would be impossible to carry out safely.
Meanwhile, Gaza’s civil defence agency reported at least 56 Palestinians were killed on Tuesday, including 10 in an airstrike on a residential building in Tel al-Hawa. Footage from the aftermath showed families carrying the body of a young girl from the rubble.
Israel’s offensive, launched in response to Hamas’s October 2023 attack that killed 1,219 people in Israel, has left at least 63,633 Palestinians dead, most of them civilians, according to figures from Gaza’s health ministry that the UN considers credible. Of the 251 hostages taken in the assault, Israel says 47 remain in Gaza, including 25 believed dead.
International calls for a halt to the conflict continue to mount. Belgium on Tuesday announced it would recognise the State of Palestine at the upcoming UN General Assembly, joining Australia, Canada, and France in taking similar steps.