Ready to expand the Gaza attack, Israel invites thousands of reserve soldiers

The army announced on Saturday night that Israel will mobilize thousands of reserve soldiers to support its campaign against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The summons indicated that the Israeli government was preparing to change the tactics in an attempt to force Hamas to agree to its conditions to end the war. It is unclear whether this will prove his success, as Hamas has fought a firm rebellion in more than a year of Israeli operations in Gaza.

An Israeli official, who occurs, said, provided that his identity was not disclosed because they were not allowed to speak publicly, that the Israeli security cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was scheduled to meet on Sunday to officially sign the expansion of the campaign in Gaza.

The mobilization declaration doubled in Gaza, as Israel prevented food, medicine and other humanitarian aid from entering for more than two months. Of more than a year of hunger and fighting, many are still abandoned or live in the ruins of their homes.

After Israel ended a two -month ceasefire with Hamas in mid -March, the Israeli forces resumed the attack through the pocket. But while Israel and drones regularly bombed Gaza from the air, the Israeli land forces slowed their progress after seizing some lands.

More than 50,000 people were killed in Israel’s military campaign against Hamas in Gaza, according to health officials in Gaza. They do not distinguish between fighters and civilians, but their lists include thousands of children.

The war began after Hamas led a sudden attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people and seeing nearly 250 times to Gaza as hostages. In the aftermath, Israeli leaders pledged to destroy Hamas in Gaza and liberate all the prisoners who were held there.

Despite more than a year of the devastating war, Israel has not achieved any of these goals. Although Israel managed to kill many Hamas leaders, the Palestinian militants fought a stubborn war of attrition, and they employed new fighters on their case and believed that they still possess up to 24 live hostages and the bodies of dozens of others.

Earlier in the war, Israeli forces swept through the pocket, settling the areas of Gaza cities and displacing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians. But they often returned to different regions, over and over, to confront what he called the renewed presence of Hamas there.

International intermediaries, including the Trump administration, sought to mediate a new endowment between Israel and Hamas for free hostages in exchange for Palestinians in Israeli prisons. However, the two sides have apparently stipulated the conditions for a deal.

Israel demanded that Hamas put its arms, which the group refused to do. For its part, Hamas said that it will not liberate any of the hostages until Israel is committed to an agreement that includes a full end of the war and a full withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.

The communication announcement also caused deep concern among the hostages of the hostages, who fear that the fighting could kill their loved ones. They have sought to mobilize the Israelis to pressure the government to reach a new truce with Hamas.

Utam Cohen, whose brother was kidnapped during the Hamas -led attack, accused Mr. Netanyahu of breaking the previous ceasefire before leading the country to a renewed war and could be avoided with Hamas. He called for an immediate agreement with Hamas to liberate his brother, who is still believed to be alive.

“Instead of returning him home in an agreement, Netanyahu sends soldiers to a war that will kill him,” Mr. Cohen He said On Saturday’s march.

Mr. Netanyahu suggested that the restoration of the remaining hostages decisively is decisively less than the defeat of Hamas. In interviews and speeches, Mr. Netanyahu promised the Israeli audience “the absolute victory” over the group.

Mr. Netanyahu said in a speech on Thursday that the liberation of the prisoners was “an important goal.” “But in the war there is a higher goal, and this defeats our enemies,” he added.

The Israeli army has been strongly tended to a group of reserve soldiers, many of whom have served for several months – with some with multiple rounds – since the war began.

But those ranks witnessed a boiling opposition against the government’s behavior of the war. Last month, a group of reserve soldiers and retired officers A public speech signed He urged a deal with Hamas to return the hostages, even at the price of stopping the war in Gaza.