Israeli cabinet approves expansion of Gaza offensive as Netanyahu calls upon reservists to join war
Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet has reportedly approved an expansion of the offensive against Hamas in Gaza just a day after the military called up “tens of thousands” of reservists to join its war in the Strip.
Army chief Eyal Zamir said the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) were “increasing the pressure” to secure the return of hostages held in Gaza as the prime minister vowed to continue the war.
“This week, we are sending tens of thousands of draft orders to our reserve personnel to intensify and expand our action in Gaza. We are increasing the pressure to return our people and defeat Hamas,” the army chief said on Sunday.
He added that the Israeli military would “operate in additional areas and destroy all of [Hamas’s] infrastructure above and below ground”.
In a video message posted on X, hours after part of a missile launched from Yemen by the Iranian-backed Houthi militia fell close to Israel’s Ben Gurion airport, Mr Netanyahu said he was convening the security cabinet to discuss “the next stage” of the war in Gaza.
The reservists will be deployed to Israel’s border with Lebanon and in the occupied West Bank, replacing regular soldiers who will lead a new offensive in Gaza, news site Ynet reported.
The security cabinet also reportedly approved a new plan for aid distribution in Gaza, although it was unclear when supplies would be let in to the enclave.
There are three IDF divisions currently operating in Gaza, according to reports. The Netanyahu administration has repeatedly warned that if no new hostage deal is reached, the military would launch a major offensive aimed at eradicating Hamas.
Negotiations have failed to agree a new ceasefire for the release of 59 remaining hostages, out of whom 24 are believed to be alive. Hamas has accused Israel of abandoning an earlier phased peace deal, which expired in early March after talks broke down. Israel resumed its airstrikes on Gaza around two weeks later on 18 March.
The Israeli military has since intensified its bombing campaign and carved out wide buffer zones in Gaza, squeezing the 2.3 million population into an ever narrower zone in the centre of the enclave and along the coast and shutting off aid supplies.
So far, 192 hostages have been released through negotiations and Israeli military operations since November 2023. Most were abducted on 7 October 2023, when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel and killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel’s retaliatory war has reduced much of the territory to rubble and killed more than 51,000 Palestinians, according to health officials in the Hamas-controlled Strip.
Over the weekend, the Israeli prime minister’s office announced that Mr Netanyahu was rescheduling a visit to Azerbaijan, citing recent developments in Gaza and Syria.
The office, which also cited “the intense diplomatic and security schedule”, did not announce a new date for the visit. Netanyahu had been expected to meet with Azerbaijan president Ilham Aliyev this week.
