DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday he will give final approval for the takeover of Gaza City while also restarting negotiations with Hamas aimed at returning all the remaining hostages and ending the war on Israel's terms.
could start within days after Netanyahu grants final approval at a meeting with senior security officials later Thursday. Hamas said earlier this week that it had agreed to , which — if accepted by Israel — could forestall the offensive.
The Israeli military has begun calling medical officials and international organizations in the northern Gaza Strip to encourage them to evacuate to the south ahead of the expanded operation. The military and extend the service of 20,000 more.
Israeli strikes, meanwhile, killed at least 36 Palestinians Thursday across Gaza, according to local hospitals. A renewed offensive could bring even more casualties and displacement to the territory, where the war has already killed tens of thousands and where .
Many Israelis fear the operation could also doom the remaining 20 or so living hostages taken by Hamas-led militants in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that ignited the war.
Gaza City operation could begin in days
During a visit to the military's Gaza command in southern Israel, Netanyahu said he would approve the army's plans to retake Gaza City and had instructed officials “to begin immediate negotiations†for the release of all hostages "and an end to the war on terms acceptable to Israel.â€
"These two things — defeating Hamas and releasing all our hostages — go hand in hand," he said.
It appeared to mark Israel's first public response to the latest ceasefire proposal drawn up by Egypt and Qatar. Egyptian and Hamas officials say it is almost identical to an earlier one that Israel accepted before .
The proposal would include the release of some of the hostages in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel, a pullback of Israeli forces and negotiations over a more lasting ceasefire.
Israeli troops have already begun more limited operations in Gaza City's Zeitoun neighborhood and the built-up Jabaliya refugee camp, areas where they have carried out several previous large-scale raids over the course of the war, only to see militants later regroup.
The military says it plans to operate in areas where ground troops have not yet entered and where it says Hamas still has military and governing capabilities.
So far, there has been little sign of Palestinians fleeing en masse, as they did when Israel carried out an earlier offensive in Gaza City in the opening weeks of the war. The military says it controls around 75% of Gaza, and residents say nowhere in the territory feels safe.
Protests in Israel and Gaza
Hundreds gathered Thursday for a rare protest in Gaza City against the war and Israel's plans to support to other countries.
Women and children held placards reading “Save Gaza†and “Stop the war, stop the savage attack, save us,†against a backdrop of destroyed buildings as Palestinian music played. , there were no expressions of opposition to Hamas.
“We want the war on Gaza to stop. We don’t want to migrate. Twenty-two months … it’s enough. Enough death. Enough destruction,†said Bisan Ghazal, a woman displaced from Gaza City.
In Israel, protesters marched Thursday night in Tel Aviv holding banners that read “The people will bring back the hostages†and “How much blood will be spilled?â€
Among the demonstrators was Dudu Dotan, who said Netanyahu is endangering the remaining hostages by moving forward with the planned Gaza City offensive. Of the 50 still being held in Gaza, Israel believes about 20 hostages are still alive.
“This way will not bring the hostages back,†Dotan said. "Every hostage he brought back, he brought back through deals. And every time he tried to bring them back with military force, he caused the hostages to be killed.â€
Plans for widening the offensive have also sparked international outrage, with many of Israel's closest Western allies — — calling on it to end the war.
Dozens killed across Gaza
At least 36 Palestinians were killed Thursday by Israeli fire across the Gaza Strip, including 14 who were seeking humanitarian aid, according to local hospitals. The military says it only targets militants and blames civilian deaths on Hamas because it operates in densely populated areas.
The Israeli military said it killed several armed militants in the Morag Corridor, a military zone where people seeking aid have repeatedly come under fire in recent weeks, according to witnesses and health officials. Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza had earlier reported that six people were killed in that area while seeking aid on Thursday. It was not possible to reconcile the two accounts.
The Media Freedom Coalition, which promotes press freedoms worldwide, called Thursday for Israel to allow independent foreign news organizations access to Gaza. Aside from rare guided tours, Israel has barred international media during the war, in which at least and media workers have been killed.
“Journalists and media workers play an essential role in putting the spotlight on the devastating reality of war,†said a statement signed by 27 of the coalition's member countries.
Israeli strikes destroy evacuated tent camp
Israeli airstrikes also destroyed a tent camp in Deir al-Balah, the only city in Gaza that has been relatively unscathed in the war and where many have sought refuge. Residents said the Israeli military warned them to flee shortly before the strikes set the camp ablaze, and there were no reports of casualties.
Families, many with children, could later be seen sifting through the ashes for the belongings they had managed to take with them during earlier evacuations.
Mohammad Kahlout, who had been displaced from northern Gaza, said they were given just five minutes to gather what they could and evacuate. “We are civilians, not terrorists. What did we do, and what did our children do, to be displaced again?"
The Gaza Health Ministry said Thursday that at least 62,192 Palestinians have been killed in the war. Another two people have died from malnutrition-related causes, bringing the total number of such deaths to 271, including 112 children, the Health Ministry said.
The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals. It does not say whether those killed by Israeli fire are civilians or combatants, but it says around half were women and children. The U.N. and many independent experts consider its figures to be the most reliable estimate of wartime casualties. Israel disputes its toll but has not provided its own.
Hamas-led militants started the war when they attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. Most of the hostages have been released in ceasefires or other deals. Hamas says it will only free the rest in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal.
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Abou Aljoud reported from Beirut, and Lidman reported from Jerusalem. Associated Press Writer Mari Yamaguchi contributed from Tokyo.
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