Israel expands Gaza offensive as Netanyahu calls up reservists

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has taken a decisive step to escalate the ongoing war in Gaza, with his security cabinet reportedly approving a broader military offensive just a day after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) issued a dramatic new wave of reservist call-ups.

File Source: BBC

“This week, we are sending tens of thousands of draft orders to our reserve personnel to intensify and expand our action in Gaza. We are increasing the pressure to return our people and defeat Hamas,” said IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir on Sunday, signaling a sharpened focus on dismantling Hamas’s remaining strongholds both above and below ground.

The move comes as hopes for a renewed ceasefire with Hamas continue to collapse. A planned hostage deal has stalled, leaving 59 captives still held in Gaza — with only 24 confirmed alive — according to Israeli assessments. The failure of talks has pushed Israel closer to launching what could be a decisive ground operation.

According to local reports, the newly summoned reservists will be positioned along the Lebanese border and in the occupied West Bank, allowing seasoned IDF combat units to redeploy into Gaza for the next phase of the campaign.

Netanyahu, addressing the nation in a video posted on X, said he was convening the security cabinet to outline “the next stage” of the Gaza war — hours after a missile launched by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militia landed near Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport.

The cabinet also approved a plan for renewed aid distribution in Gaza, though specifics on timing remain unclear. Inside the Strip, three IDF divisions are already in active operations, carving out buffer zones and escalating air and ground strikes that have increasingly hemmed in Gaza’s 2.3 million residents.

Since the war erupted on 7 October 2023 — when Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 Israelis in a surprise assault — the conflict has exacted a staggering toll. According to Hamas-run health authorities, more than 51,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes. Meanwhile, 192 hostages have been released since November, through both negotiation and military intervention.

Over the weekend, Netanyahu canceled a planned diplomatic visit to Azerbaijan, citing “the intense diplomatic and security schedule” tied to the surging regional tensions in Gaza and Syria.