Key points
- No timeline for troop entry given
- Airstrikes intensified in Gaza residential areas
- Over 61,000 Palestinians killed; famine warnings issued
JERUSALEM, Palestine: The Israeli military said Wednesday it had approved the “framework” for a new offensive in the Gaza Strip, days after the security cabinet called for the seizure of Gaza City.
Armed forces chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir “approved the main framework for the IDF’s operational plan in the Gaza Strip,” a statement released by the army said.
Prime Benjamin Minister Netanyahu’s government has not provided a precise timetable for when Israeli troops will enter Gaza’s largest city, where thousands have taken refuge after fleeing previous offensives.
Israeli airstrikes
Gaza’s civil defence agency said Israeli air strikes on Gaza City have intensified in recent days, with the residential neighbourhoods of Zeitoun and Sabra hit “with very heavy air strikes targeting civilian homes, possibly including high-rise buildings”.
News of the military’s approval of the plan comes hours after Hamas said a senior delegation had arrived in Cairo for “preliminary talks” with Egyptian officials on a temporary truce.
The Netanyahu government’s plans to expand the Gaza war after more than 22 months of Israeli offensive has sparked an international outcry as well as domestic opposition.
Widespread famine
UN-backed experts have warned of widespread famine unfolding in the territory, where Israel has drastically curtailed the amount of humanitarian aid it allows in.
Israel’s offensive has killed at least 61,599 Palestinians, according to figures from the health ministry in Gaza which the United Nations considers reliable.
