Israel prepared for escalation in Gaza and new wave of mobilization - Bloomberg
Photo: The decision to expand the ground operation was made on Friday (Getty Images)
Israel is reportedly preparing to intensify its military operation in the Gaza Strip in the coming days and begin calling up tens of thousands of reservists, Bloomberg reports.
According to the sources, the decision to expand the ground campaign was made after a Friday meeting of the Israeli Security Cabinet led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The stepped-up campaign comes amid both domestic and international pressure on Netanyahu to break the stalemate in Israel's ongoing war with Hamas, which has lasted for more than 18 months.
Bloomberg notes that Israeli forces and tanks currently control nearly one-third of Gaza's territory following the end of a two-month ceasefire in mid-March. Israel has also blocked the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza's population of over two million.
Hamas still maintains control over parts of the coastal strip and holds 59 hostages, 24 of whom are believed to be alive, taken during the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
Some members of Netanyahu's ruling coalition, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, are pushing for a full military escalation to eliminate Hamas - even if it puts hostages' lives at risk.
Meanwhile, a recent Kan News poll shows that most Israelis want the war to end and favor a prisoner-hostage exchange with Palestinian militants.
Ceasefire negotiations
This week, on Monday, April 28, negotiations between delegations from Israel and Hamas on ending the war in Gaza took place in Cairo.
Two sources told Reuters that the talks were close to a breakthrough, but key disputes have yet to be resolved. At the same time, a number of other media outlets denied a breakthrough.
