Israel to call up 60,000 reservists as it launches ‘first stages’ of attack on Gaza City – Middle East crisis live

Troops already holding outskirts of territory’s capital, military says, while Israel approves huge new illegal settlement splitting West Bank

• Israel expands Gaza City offensive

A group of 17 US Senators sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday calling for the United States to press Israel to grant access and protection to journalists in Gaza.

The letter comes one week after an Israeli strike killed a group of Palestinian journalists in the besieged territory.

Israeli defence minister Israel Katz’s order to send more troops into Gaza City came despite international criticism of the offensive, with fears of significant casualties and more mass displacement amid widening conditions of starvation in the territory.

The situation in Gaza City was “catastrophic” and “large numbers” were fleeing eastern neighbourhoods, according to the Gaza municipality’s emergency committee chief, Mustafa Qazzaat. Resident Anis Daloul, 64, told the AFP news agency the Israeli military had “destroyed most of the buildings in Zeitoun and displaced thousands of people”.

The additional Israeli reserve soldiers would not report for duty until September, a military official said on Wednesday, giving mediators time to bridge gaps between Hamas and Israel over the terms of any ceasefire and hostage deal.

Hamas said Israel’s plans to conquer Gaza City showed its “blatant disregard” for efforts to broker a truce. The Israeli talk of a large-scale operation could primarily be intended to put pressure on the militant group in ceasefire talks, reports Peter Beaumont.

More than 62,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli war in Gaza since Hamas’s deadly attacks in October 2023, according to Gaza health officials.

British UK foreign secretary David Lammy condemned Israel’s approval of the new settlement block in the West Bank as a “flagrant breach of international law”. The plan would split the West Bank into two with the intention – Israeli far-right minister Bezalel Smotrich has said – of ending any prospect of a Palestinian state.

The Israeli military said on Thursday it has received a report about a security incident near the settlement of Malachei HaShalom in the West Bank, adding that details were under review. Continue reading...