Tens of thousands of reservists started to report for duty on Tuesday ahead of a new Israeli offensive in Gaza City, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to speed up, despite warnings from senior ranks.
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Israeli Army Radio said that some 40,000 would report for duty on Tuesday for the Gaza City offensive, as the military prepares logistically for their intake.
Israel’s security cabinet, chaired by Netanyahu, approved a plan last month to expand the campaign in Gaza with the aim of taking Gaza City, where Israeli forces waged fierce urban warfare with Hamas in the early stages of the war. Israel currently holds about 75 per cent of the Gaza Strip.
A security cabinet meeting late on Sunday included angry exchanges between Netanyahu and his ministers, who want to push ahead with the Gaza City offensive, and military chief Eyal Zamir, who has urged the politicians to reach a ceasefire deal.
Zamir said the campaign will endanger hostages and put further strain on the already overstretched army, according to four ministers and two military officials present at the meeting.
This follows similar exchanges between Zamir and Netanyahu’s cabinet last month. Netanyahu said on August 20, that he gave the instruction to speed up the timetable for taking what he describes as Hamas’ last bastion.