CNN
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Israel’s military will mobilize thousands of reservists in the coming days, it said Saturday, in what appears to be an expansion of its offensive in Gaza as talks aimed at securing a ceasefire languish.
The call-up follows reports that the Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir on Friday presented a plan to intensify pressure on Palestinian militant group Hamas to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz.
Israel’s public broadcaster, Kan 11, reported that Zamir’s plan included evacuating Palestinian civilians from northern and central Gaza ahead of expanded operations in those areas, mirroring tactics used earlier this year in southern Gaza’s Rafah.
Citing unnamed officials, Kan 11 said Netanyahu’s Security Cabinet was expected to approve the plan Sunday.
The news has prompted concern among families of the 59 Israeli hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza. Most of the hostages were taken during Hamas’ deadly attack on Israel of October 7, 2023, which sparked 18 months of Israeli bombardment that has killed more than 50,000 people in Gaza.
In what it described as “an urgent and heartfelt” appeal, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters warned Saturday that “any escalation in the fighting will put the hostages — both the living and the deceased — in immediate danger.”
“The vast majority of the Israeli public views the return of the hostages as the nation’s highest moral priority,” it added.
Negotiations to secure the release of the remaining hostages have been stalled for weeks.
Talks mediated by Egypt and Qatar have repeatedly collapsed. Hamas is demanding a permanent ceasefire and full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, while Israel has accused Hamas of rejecting “reasonable offers.”
Hope for a diplomatic resolution appeared to dim further over the weekend as Netanyahu accused Qatari mediators of “playing both sides” in the negotiations and calling on the Gulf state to “decide if it’s on the side of civilization or if it’s on the side of Hamas barbarism,” claiming Israel is fighting “a just war with just means” in Gaza.
It’s unclear what prompted Netanyahu’s claim, but the statement follows reports in Israeli media that Qatar had pressured Hamas to reject an Egyptian proposal for a ceasefire deal.
Qatar dismissed the claim Sunday, calling the accusation a distortion of its diplomatic efforts and accused Israel of using humanitarian aid as a “tool of political coercion” as a total Israeli blockade of aid deliveries to the Palestinian enclave enters its third month. “Is this truly the model of ‘civilization’ being promoted?” its Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari wrote in a post on X.
“A legitimate question must be raised: Were the releases of no fewer than 138 hostages achieved through so called ‘just’ military operations, or through the very mediation that is now being unjustly criticized and undermined?” he added.
On Thursday, Netanyahu said explicitly for the first time that defeating Israel’s enemies was more important than securing the release of the remaining hostages, in remarks that drew a backlash from representatives of their families. Previously, he had described defeating Hamas and securing the release of the hostages as the primary goals of Israel’s war in Gaza.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister’s Office announced Saturday it was rescheduling Netanyahu’s May 7-11 visit to Azerbaijan “to a later date.”
Citing an “intense diplomatic and security schedule,” it said the change came following “developments in Gaza and Syria.”
This story has been updated with further information.
