Israeli media: Army calls on tens of thousands of reservists in the run -up to expansion offensive

The Israeli army (IDF) will call tens of thousands of reservists from Sunday in preparation for an expansion of the military offensive in Gaza. Report that various Israeli media Saturday. According to the army, the reservists will replace professional soldiers in the coming week who are now active in the occupied West Bank and Israel, so that they can be used in the Gaza Strip.

The army states according to The Jerusalem Post that the expansion will take place in phases. According to the newspaper, this indicates that it can take ‘days or weeks’ before there is a clearer picture of the precise strategy and the impact of a further invasion of the Israeli army in Gaza.

On Friday, the army presented the planned phased offensive in Gaza during a security consultation to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which requires substantial mobilization. The Israeli safety cabinet is expected to meet on Sunday to approve the prime minister’s plans.

Hostage

According to the army, the offensive is intended to put pressure on Hamas to reach an agreement on the hostages, not to destroy the terror group. Israeli officials have repeatedly warned that if an agreement is not reached quickly about the hostages that are still being held in Gaza, the Israeli army will start a large -scale offensive with the aim of destroying Hamas.

The army stated that the pressure on Hamas will step by step and that the call from reservists is part of that phased plan, because so far Hamas refuses to agree to an agreement about the hostages.

The Israeli army states that the recall of the 59 hostages who are still being held by Hamas in Gaza is the main goal of the war. The beating of the terror group only comes in second place, despite the fact that Netanyahu previously stated that ‘victory’ on Hamas is the main goal.

The chance that a new cease-fire will come between Hamas and Israel seems to be declining for a long time. Since March 18, when Israel broke the ceasefire with Hamas, the Israeli destruction of the Gaza Strip has increased. Israel has also been blocking all humanitarian aid to Gaza since 2 March.

To share

Mail the editors