TEL AVIV, August 20. /TASS/. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have begun combat actions on the outskirts of Gaza City as part of the preparatory phase of the operation to seize Gaza’s biggest urban center to eradicate strongholds of the radical Hamas movement, IDF Spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin said on Wednesday.

"We have begun the preliminary operations and the first stages of the attack on Gaza City, and as of this moment, IDF forces are holding the outskirts of Gaza City," Reuters cited Defrin as saying at a press conference.

State broadcaster Kan reported earlier that Israeli military units had already begun fighting in the suburbs of Gaza City, in preparations to expand the maneuver. According to Kan, the plans for the operation to seize Gaza City would be submitted to the Israeli Cabinet for approval on August 21.

On the morning of August 20, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz approved a plan to capture Gaza City. The Kan state broadcaster reported that the operation has been named Gideon’s Chariots II.

Earlier in the day the IDF’s press office reported that the Israeli Armed Forces mobilized 60,000 reservists and extended the service of an additional 20,000 personnel ahead of Gideon’s Chariots II in Gaza City.

Kan broadcaster also reported in turn that according to the army’s plan, the operation would involve five divisions and 12 brigade combat teams, as well as the northern and southern brigades of the Gaza Division.

The media outlet adds that three reservist brigades will also be mobilized. The total number of reservists on active duty will reach 130,000 at the peak of the operation.

 

Palestinian-Israeli conflict

 

The situation in the Middle East deteriorated sharply after armed supporters of the Palestinian Hamas movement from the Gaza Strip entered Israeli territory on October 7, 2023, killing residents of border settlements and taking hostages. The radicals called this attack a response to Israel’s actions against the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

Israel blockaded Gaza and launched a military operation in the strip to free the hostages and dismantle Hamas’s fighting capability. In March, Israel resumed fighting in the Gaza Strip, breaking a ceasefire established in January. Several rounds of negotiations mediated by Qatar, Egypt, and the United States failed.