Israel approves call-up of 60,000 reservists to take control of Gaza City

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz approved the plan to take control of Gaza City and ordered the call-up of 60,000 reservists, while mediators continued to await the government's response on Wednesday 20 to a new truce proposal in the devastated Palestinian territory.

The security cabinet led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu authorized earlier this month a plan to militarily seize the city and adjacent displacement camps, as well as to take control of the entire Strip, free the hostages and disarm the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.

The hostages were kidnapped in a surprise Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. Since then, the Israeli retaliatory offensive has caused tens of thousands of deaths and a humanitarian disaster denounced by the international community.

Minister Katz "approved the Israeli army's attack plan on Gaza City," the largest city in the Palestinian coastal territory, a source at the ministry told AFP .

He also authorized “the issuance of orders to call up the reservists needed to carry out the mission,” which totals almost 60,000 men.

In 22 months of war, the Israeli army took almost 75% of the Gaza Strip.

In recent days, the country has stepped up airstrikes and ground operations in Gaza City and nearby displacement camps, considered Hamas's last strongholds.

The Israeli website Walla reported that "Division 99 is about to complete the conquest of the Zeitoun neighborhood in Gaza City. The "next objective" will be the neighboring Al Sabra neighborhood.

Tanks, artillery and drones

"The explosions don't stop in Al Sabra. Tanks and artillery are firing at us, as are drones," Hussein al Dairi, a resident of the neighborhood, told AFP on Tuesday.

The Israeli military said its forces were operating in the area to dismantle Hamas' military capabilities.

On Monday, the Islamist movement announced that it had accepted a new truce proposal presented by mediators (Egypt, Qatar and the United States).

Israel has not yet issued a formal response to the truce proposal. A government source said that Netanyahu's office "has not changed" its policy and continues to "demand the release" of all hostages at once, "in accordance with established principles" to end the war.

“We are in the final decisive phase against Hamas and we will not leave any hostages behind,” the source added.

Qatar praised Hamas's "very positive" response and highlighted on Tuesday that the current proposal "almost completely" replicates a US plan previously approved by Israel.

The proposal is based on an earlier plan by US envoy Steve Witkoff: the release of 10 hostages alive and the bodies of 18 in exchange for a 60-day ceasefire and negotiations to end the war, Israeli public radio Kan reported.

Previous truces

The two previous truces , in November 2023 and early 2025, allowed the return of hostages alive and the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

Since the beginning of the war, Israel has maintained a siege on Gaza and its more than two million inhabitants, who face the threat of "widespread famine," according to the United Nations. The Israeli government rejects the accusations and claims to have authorized the entry of more aid in recent weeks.

The conflict was triggered by Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, during which the Islamists killed 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official data.

They also kidnapped 251 hostages, of which 49 remain in captivity in Gaza, including 27 who are believed to have died, according to the Israeli army.

In Gaza, the Israeli retaliatory offensive killed 62,064 people, most of them civilians, according to data from the Palestinian territory's Health Ministry – ruled by Hamas – considered reliable by the UN.