Israel says it has begun military operation to take over Gaza City

Israel's war machine has begun a planned performance to occupy o'er Gaza urban center, Israeli military spokesperson Brig.-Gen. Effie Defrin said on Wednesday.

Following a clash with Hamas near Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Wednesday, he said: "We will deepen the attack on Hamas in Gaza City, a stronghold of governmental and military terror for the terrorist organization."

Defrin said troops had already begun circling the outskirts of Gaza City and that Hamas was now a "battered and bruised" guerrilla force.

"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," he said, referring to the Israel Defence Forces.

Israel's military called up tens of thousands of reservists on Wednesday in preparation for the expected assault on Gaza City, as the Israeli government considered a new proposal for a ceasefire after nearly two years of war.

The call-up signals that Israel is pressing ahead with its plan to seize Gaza's biggest urban centre despite international criticism of an operation likely to force the displacement of many more Palestinians.

Israel calls up 60,000 reservists for new Gaza offensive

A military official briefing reporters earlier on Wednesday said reserve soldiers would not report for duty until September, an interval that gives mediators some time to bridge gaps between Hamas and the Israeli government over truce terms.

But after Israeli troops clashed with Hamas fighters in the Palestinian enclave on Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said the Israeli leader sped up the timeline for taking control of Hamas strongholds and defeating the militant group.

Hamas, in a statement on the messaging service Telegram, accused Netanyahu of obstructing the ceasefire deal in favour of continuing a "brutal war against innocent civilians in Gaza City."

"Netanyahu's disregard for the mediators' proposal ... Proves that he is the real obstructionist of any agreement."

Israeli troops clashed on Wednesday with more than 15 Hamas militants who emerged from tunnel shafts and attacked with gunfire and anti-tank missiles near Khan Younis, south of Gaza City, severely wounding one soldier and lightly wounding two others, an Israeli military official said.

In a statement, Hamas's al-Qassam Brigades confirmed carrying out a raid on Israeli troops southeast of Khan Younis and engaging them at point-blank range. It said one fighter blew himself up among the soldiers, causing casualties, during an attack that lasted several hours.

War broke out in Gaza after about 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage during a Hamas-led attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, according to Israeli tallies. More than 61,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's military campaign in Gaza, according to local health officials, and much of the enclave has been destroyed.

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