Israel enters first stage of planned assault on Gaza City

Israel on Wednesday entered the first stages of its planned assault on Gaza City after approving a plan to take over the city that includes calling up 60,000 reservists for its expanded military operation in the besieged Palestinian enclave.

“We have begun the preliminary actions and the initial stages of the offensive on Gaza City, and already now IDF forces are holding positions on the outskirts of Gaza City,” Israeli military spokesman Effie Defrin told reporters on Wednesday.

He added: “We will intensify the strikes on Hamas in Gaza City, the political and military stronghold of the terror organization.”

Defrin also said that to “minimize harm to civilians,” the IDF will be warning citizens to allow them to evacuate.

“We are continuing to allow humanitarian aid for the residents of the Strip and are even expanding it — with additional central aid distribution points,” he said.

The U.S. ally appeared to be pushing ahead Wednesday with a new phase of its war despite international opposition — and in the face of a renewed push for a ceasefire with Hamas.

Defense Minister Israel Katz has authorized the plans for the major new operation, a spokesperson for the ministry confirmed to NBC News. It will also see an additional 20,000 reservists have their service extended, the Israeli military said.

The assault is expected to force thousands of Palestinians in northern Gaza to the south of the strip, which is suffering an intensifying hunger crisis under Israel’s military offensive and aid restrictions.

In a Wednesday night statement, the Prime Minister’s office said that “ahead of approval of the plans for the operation in Gaza City, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has directed that the timetables — for seizing control of the last terrorist strongholds and the defeat of Hamas — be shortened.”

“The Prime Minister expresses his great appreciation for the reservist fighters who have been mobilized and their families, and all IDF soldiers,” the statement added. “Together we will win.”

Hamas did not issue an immediate response to the announcement about Israeli troops taking up positions outside Gaza City.

Scores of people have been killed by starvation in recent weeks, including dozens of children, according to the Palestinian health ministry in the enclave.

In addition to mounting global outrage, sweeping protests have increasingly dominated its own streets, with growing numbers of Israelis demanding an end to its offensive in the enclave.

Hundreds of thousands staged furious demonstrations last weekend alongside a general strike, fueled in part by fears that the planned Gaza City assault could endanger the lives of remaining hostages.

Meanwhile, Israel also gave final approval for a widely contested settlement project in the occupied West Bank that would effectively split the territory in two. Palestinians and rights groups have warned the move could destroy plans for a future Palestinian state.

Katz, who replaced Yoav Gallant as defense minister last year, was on Tuesday holding a discussion to approve “strike plans in Gaza” with Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir and other senior defense officials, the defense ministry had said.

The announcement of the expanded military operation comes after Israel appeared to shrug off Hamas’ agreement to the latest proposal from Arab mediators for a ceasefire deal in Gaza that would free hostages who remain held in the enclave.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty told NBC News on Tuesday that the deal was based on a proposal by President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, for a 60-day ceasefire, during which some of the remaining 50 hostages, both alive and dead, would be released with plans to negotiate a lasting ceasefire and the return of the rest.

“The ball is now in Israel’s court,” he said, adding: “We would like a positive response from them as soon as possible in order to deal with the disastrous situation in Gaza, especially the starvation and the killing of civilians.”

Asked about the development, a spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office referred NBC News to a statement the Israeli leader made Monday suggesting he was determined to push ahead with the plan to assume full control of Gaza City and noting that Hamas appeared to be “under immense pressure.”

Asked if they could confirm reports that Israel would provide a response to international mediators on the proposal by Friday, the spokesperson said “no” and did not provide further clarification.

New satellite imagery suggests that a number of people have already begun to flee the area of Gaza City in recent days ahead of Israel’s advance, with the country’s plan to push civilians living in the area into the enclave’s south condemned by rights groups.

Imagery captured on August 16 shows sites just south of Gaza City are seemingly barren, having been packed with what appear to be tent camps just days before, on August 9.Mohammed Abu Sharia, a father of three, said he and his family had been forced to leave their home in Gaza City again — just months after returning from another round of displacement due to Israel’s offensive.

“Thank God, we found our house almost intact and habitable, despite the theft of all its contents and the lack of doors or windows,” Abu Sharia, 48, who ran an internet distribution company before Israel’s assault began, told NBC News on Wednesday.

The family was able to live in their home for the past six months — but in the midst of Israel’s plan to take over Gaza City they were now seeking some semblance of refuge in western Gaza in an enclave where nowhere is considered safe.

“There is no safe place, neither in the north nor the south,” Abu Sharia said. “My concern is to save the family’s life, as we are suffering from food shortages and the lack of any belongings with us.”

“Further displacement and an intensification in hostilities risk worsening an already catastrophic situation,” the International Committee of the Red Cross said in a statement.

“With more than 80 percent of Gaza already impacted by evacuation orders, it is unimaginable that civilians could be compelled to move to an even smaller area,” it said.

Israel launched its offensive in Gaza following the Hamas-led attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, in which some 1,200 people were killed and around 250 taken hostage, marking a major escalation in a decadeslong conflict.

Since then, more than 62,000 people have been killed in Gaza, including thousands of children, according to the Palestinian health ministry in the enclave, with much of the territory destroyed.