Star Metro - Israel approves plan to conquer Gaza City, calls up reservists

Defence Minister Israel Katz's move, confirmed to AFP by a spokesperson, came as mediators awaited an official Israeli response on their latest proposal.

While mediator Qatar had expressed guarded optimism over the latest proposal, a senior Israeli official said the government stood firm on its call for the release of all hostages in any agreement.

The framework that Hamas had approved proposes an initial 60-day truce, a staggered hostage release, the freeing of some Palestinian prisoners and provisions allowing for the entry of aid into Gaza.

Israel and Hamas have held on-off indirect negotiations throughout the war, resulting in two short truces during which Israeli hostages were released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

Of the 251 hostages taken during Hamas's October 2023 attack that triggered the war, 49 are still in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.

Sources from Hamas and its ally Islamic Jihad told AFP on Wednesday that the latest proposal envisages the release of 10 hostages and 18 bodies from Gaza.

The remaining captives would be released in a second phase, with negotiations for a broader settlement.

- 'Opened the door' -

The latest proposal came after Israel's security cabinet approved plans to conquer Gaza City, despite fears it will worsen the already catastrophic humanitarian crisis.

Qatar and Egypt, backed by the United States, have mediated the frequent rounds of shuttle diplomacy.

Qatar said the latest proposal was "almost identical" to an earlier version agreed by Israel, while Egypt said Monday that "the ball is now in its (Israel's) court".

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to publicly comment on the truce plan, but said last week that his country would accept "an agreement in which all the hostages are released at once and according to our conditions for ending the war".

Senior Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi said on social media that his group had "opened the door wide to the possibility of reaching an agreement, but the question remains whether Netanyahu will once again close it, as he has done in the past".

According to Israeli media reports, Netanyahu has not so far called a security cabinet meeting to discuss any response.

- 'White gold' -

The latest truce proposal came as Netanyahu faces increasing pressure at home and abroad.

Over the past week, Israel has stepped up its air strikes and ground operations in Gaza.

According to Israeli army radio, the military was preparing for a "prolonged operation of several months that will run into 2026".

After conducting intense operations around the Zeitoun neighbourhood of Gaza City, the military appeared to be concentrating its firepower on nearby Sabra, whose residents have reported several strikes.

An Israeli military official told journalists on Wednesday that the new phase of combat would involve "a gradual precise and targeted operation in and around Gaza City," including some areas where forces had not previously operated.

The official said the military had already begun operating in the neighbourhoods of Zeitoun and Jabalia as part of the initial stages.

Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli strikes and fire killed at least 21 people across the territory on Wednesday.

When contacted by AFP, the Israeli military asked for coordinates and specific timeframes to comment on the reports, but said it would look into reports of eight people killed by Israeli fire near an aid site in the centre of Gaza.

Agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP on Tuesday the situation was "very dangerous and unbearable" in Zeitoun and Sabra, where he said "shelling continues intermittently".

Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties accessing swathes of the Palestinian territory mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency or the Israeli military.

In the Zikim area of northern Gaza on Tuesday, an AFP journalist saw Palestinians hauling sacks of food aid along dusty roads lined with rubble and damaged buildings.

Gazan Shawg Al-Badri said it took "three to four hours" to carry flour, what she called "white gold", back to her family's tent.

"This bag is worth the whole world," she said.

Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Israel's offensive has killed at least 62,064 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, which the United Nations considers reliable.

A.Bergeron--SMC