Israeli officials have approved a plan for the military to scale up its deadly occupation in Gaza, despite increased global condemnation of the government’s killing and starving of the territory’s Palestinian population over the last 22 months.
The plan involves Israeli forces capturing Gaza City in the north and forcibly displacing its hundreds of thousands of residents to the south, which has been flattened by the military. Israel said it has called up 60,000 reservists and extended the service of an additional 20,000 in order to carry out the operation.
Israel maintains the military operation is meant to wipe out Hamas, the Gaza-based militant group that carried out the deadly attack on Oct. 7, 2023. About 50 hostages taken by Hamas at the time remain in captivity, roughly half of whom Israel believes are dead.
Arab mediators say Hamas leaders have agreed to the latest ceasefire proposal, though similar developments in the past have not led to a permanent truce. Israel has not agreed to the deal.
Both the international community and some Israelis themselves have accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of abandoning the hostages and a potential ceasefire in favor of destroying the Palestinian people. The Gaza Health Ministry estimates Israeli forces have killed at least 62,000 people, with the real toll expected to be much higher.
International Glance
Israeli forces have killed at least 77 Palestinians across Gaza, including 47 people in northern Gaza City, as the military intensifies its campaign to seize the city and displace about one million people living there.
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Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has been blocked from attending the UN General Assembly session in New York next month, after he and 80 other Palestinian officials had their visas revoked, the US State Department has said.
The Israeli military struck Nasser Hospital at least four times during its morning attack on southern Gaza that killed 22 people earlier this week, according to an NBC News analysis of newly obtained video.





























