Israel defence minister approves plan to conquer Gaza

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has approved the military's plan to conquer Gaza City and authorised the call-up of around 60,000 reservists to carry it out, his ministry confirmed on Wednesday.

When contacted by the media, a spokesperson from the defence ministry confirmed the reports which appeared in Israeli media.

The overall Palestinian death toll in the war surpassed 62,000 on Monday, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals. The ministry does not say how many of the dead were civilians or combatants, but says women and children make up around half of them.

In addition to that toll, other Palestinians have died from malnutrition and starvation, including three reported in the past 24 hours, the ministry said Tuesday. It says 154 adults have died of malnutrition-related causes since late June, when it began counting such deaths, and 112 children have died of malnutrition-related causes since the war began.

An Israeli armoured personnel carrier (APC) manoeuvres on the side of the border with Gaza, Israel, on Tuesday. Reuters

A key mediator on Tuesday stressed the urgency of brokering a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip after Hamas showed a "positive response" to a proposal from Arab countries, but Israel has yet to weigh in as its military prepares an offensive in some of the territory's most populated areas.

The prospect of an expanded assault on Gaza City and other areas sheltering hundreds of thousands of civilians has sparked international outrage. Palestinians say there is nowhere to flee after 22 months of war that has already killed tens of thousands and destroyed much of the territory.

"They are talking about a 60-day truce, and after Israel gets its (hostages) they will strike us again," said Huda Rishe, who has been displaced four times since the start of the war. "We will return to Gaza City and then leave again. We have lost hope."

A Palestinian boy mourns over the bodies of his uncle, Mohammad Harb and his cousin Leen Harb, who were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis, Gaza, on Tuesday. AP

AP reporters saw some families arriving in central Gaza after fleeing Gaza City.

Many Israelis, who rallied in the hundreds of thousands on Sunday, fear the offensive will further endanger the remaining hostages in Gaza. Just 20 of the 50 remaining are thought to be alive.

"If this (ceasefire) proposal fails, the crisis will exacerbate," Majed al-Ansari, a spokesperson for Qatar's Foreign Ministry, told journalists, adding they have yet to hear from Israel on it.

A Palestinian boy rushes away from the site of Israeli air strikes on a six-storey building in the Saftawi neighbourhood west of Jabalia, Gaza, on Tuesday. AFP

Al-Ansari said Hamas had agreed to terms under discussion. He declined to provide details but said the proposal was "almost identical" to one previously advanced by U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff.

That U.S. proposal was for a 60-day ceasefire, during which some of the remaining hostages would be released and the sides would negotiate a lasting ceasefire and the return of the rest.

"If we get to a deal, it shouldn't be expected that it would be instantaneously implemented," al-Ansari said. "We're not there yet."

A Palestinian woman and children rush away from the site of Israeli air strikes in Jabalia, Gaza, on Tuesday. AFP

Hamas-led fighters started the war when they attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. Most of the hostages have been released in ceasefires or other deals. Hamas says it will only free the rest in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal.

Aid groups continue to struggle to deliver supplies to Gaza, where most of the population is displaced, large swaths are in ruins and experts say the "worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out."

Agencies