Katz Approves Gaza Occupation Plan and Begins Call-Up of 60,000 Soldiers

SadaNews - Israeli media reported that the Israeli Minister of Defense, Yoav Galant, and Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir approved plans for the occupation of Gaza City based on the recent decision of the ministerial security and political cabinet.

The Israeli army radio stated that the operation to attack Gaza City will be named "Gideon's Chariots 2."

Channel 12 quoted the Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Galant as saying, "As the operation progresses, the features of Gaza will change, and it will not look as it did before."

Media sources reported that the Israeli army decided to expedite the call-up of 60,000 reservists and extend the service of 20,000 reservists by an additional 40 days.

The decision by Katz and Zamir came after discussions they held at the military command leadership headquarters (Kiryah) in Tel Aviv to approve the plans for the occupation of Gaza City.

Israeli Channel 12 stated that the meeting included senior officials from the Southern Command and the General Staff, including the head of military intelligence, the head of operations, and representatives of the Shin Bet security agency.

Earlier on Tuesday, Zamir outlined the stages of the Gaza City occupation plan, which includes a number of paths, including "reinforcing Israeli army forces in northern Gaza Strip."

On August 8, the Israeli government approved a plan proposed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court, to gradually reoccupy the Gaza Strip completely, starting with Gaza City.

The plan begins with the occupation of Gaza City by relocating the approximately one million Palestinians living there to the south, then encircling the city and conducting incursions into populated areas.

On August 11, in the context of implementing the plan, the Israeli army began a wide-ranging attack on the Al-Zeitoun neighborhood in southeastern Gaza City, which involved demolishing homes using drones, artillery shelling, random gunfire, and forced displacement.

These Israeli preparations for occupying Gaza come despite ongoing indirect ceasefire negotiations between Tel Aviv and the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), where the latter agreed on Monday to a proposal by the Egyptian and Qatari mediators, which includes a temporary halt to military operations for 60 days.