Tel Aviv: Israel has announced that it has begun the first stage of an ground operations aimed at capturing and controlling Gaza City, triggering a mass exodus of remaining civilians towards the south. The military has also called up 60,000 reservists to support the offensive.
“We have begun the preliminary operations and the first stages of the attack on Gaza City, and already now IDF forces are holding the outskirts of Gaza City,” Brigadier General Effie Defrin, the Israeli military spokesperson, said on Wednesday, August 20, Reuters reported.
The move has drawn international criticism. French President Emmanuel Macron warned it risked disaster and regional instability, while United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged an immediate ceasefire to avert further civilian deaths.
Speaking in Japan, Guterres condemned the offensive and denounced Israel’s plans to expand settlements in the occupied West Bank as “illegal”.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said that another forced displacement of civilians would worsen an already dire situation.
“The intensification of hostilities in Gaza means more killing, more displacement, more destruction and more panic,” ICRC spokesman Christian Cardon told AFP, warning of dwindling access to healthcare, food and water in the besieged enclave.
Diplomatic efforts continue, with Qatar and Egypt proposing a new ceasefire plan involving a 60-day truce and the release of around half the hostages. Hamas has accepted the deal, but Israel has yet to respond, insisting on a full agreement that secures the release of all captives.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed his military commanders to accelerate the campaign. His office said on Wednesday, August 20, that he had ordered a shortened timeframe for capturing and defeating Hamas strongholds, though no details were provided.
The war erupted on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led gunmen attacked southern Israeli communities, killing some 1,200 people—mostly civilians—and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures.
According to the Wafa News Agency, medical sources reported on Thursday that the death toll in the Gaza Strip has reached 62,192, the majority women and children, since the start of the conflict. In the past 24 hours alone, 70 people were killed and 356 wounded.
