Israel has started the first steps of an operation to take over Gaza City, after its defence minister approved a plan for the Palestinian city's seizure and authorised the call-up of around 60,000 reservists.
"We have begun the preliminary operations and the first stages of the attack on Gaza City, and already now IDF forces are holding the outskirts of Gaza City," Brigadier General Effie Defrin, Israel's military spokesperson, told reporters.
Israel's military had earlier told journalists on Wednesday the new phase of combat would involve "a gradual, precise and targeted operation in and around Gaza City", including some areas where forces had not previously operated.
Israel is pressing ahead with its plan to seize Gaza's biggest urban centre despite international criticism of an operation likely to force the displacement of many more Palestinians.
Many of Israel's closest allies have urged the government to reconsider, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is under pressure from some far-right members of his coalition to reject a temporary ceasefire, continue the war and pursue the annexation of the territory.
Israeli defence minister Israel Katz's move came as mediators awaited an official Israeli response to their latest proposal in ceasefire talks with Hamas.
The military briefing said reserve soldiers would not report for duty until September, an interval that gives mediators some time to bridge gaps between Hamas and Israel over truce terms.
Hamas, in a statement on Telegram, accused Netanyahu of obstructing the ceasefire deal in favour of continuing a "brutal war against innocent civilians in Gaza City".
"Netanyahu's disregard for the mediators' proposal ... proves that he is the real obstructionist of any agreement," the statement said.
While mediator Qatar had expressed guarded optimism over the latest proposal, a senior Israeli official said the government stood firm on its call for the release of all hostages in any agreement.
The framework that Hamas had approved proposes an initial 60-day truce, a staggered hostage release, the freeing of some Palestinian prisoners and those held under administrative detention and provisions allowing for the entry of aid into Gaza.
The call-up comes as a growing campaign of exhausted reservists is accusing the government of perpetuating the war for political reasons and failing to bring home the remaining hostages.
The families of the hostages and former army and intelligence chiefs have also expressed opposition to the expanded operation in Gaza City.
Hundreds of thousands of displaced people are sheltering in the city, and it holds some of the last remnants of critical infrastructure.
On the ground in Gaza City on Wednesday, Mustafa Qazzaat, head of the emergency committee in the Gaza municipality, described the situation as "catastrophic", with "large numbers" fleeing eastern neighbourhoods.
One resident, Anis Daloul, 64, said the Israeli military had "destroyed most of the buildings in Zeitoun and displaced thousands of people".
Israel's security cabinet, chaired by Netanyahu, approved the plan to conquer Gaza City in early August, sparking fears it would worsen the already catastrophic humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
According to Israeli media reports, Netanyahu has not yet called a security cabinet meeting to discuss any response to the latest truce proposal.
International criticism of Israel's escalation
Netanyahu has come under growing pressure at home and abroad to end the war, with the German government saying it "rejects the escalation" of Israel's campaign.
French President Emmanuel Macron said the offensive "can only lead to a complete disaster for both peoples", warning it would "drag the region into a permanent war".
On Sunday, tens of thousands took to the streets in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv to call for an end to the war and a deal to free the remaining hostages still held captive.
Katz's approval of plans to conquer Gaza City came days after Hamas said it had accepted the latest proposal from mediators for a ceasefire to halt the devastating war.
Sources from Hamas and its ally Islamic Jihad told Agence France-Presse the proposal envisages the release of 10 hostages and 18 bodies from Gaza.
The remaining captives would be released in a second exchange within the 60-day period, during which negotiations for a permanent ceasefire would take place, the sources said.
Israel and Hamas have held on-and-off indirect negotiations throughout the war, resulting in two short truces during which Israeli hostages were released in exchange for Palestinians held under detention, but they have ultimately failed to broker a lasting ceasefire.
Of the 251 hostages taken during Hamas' October 2023 attack that escalated the war, 49 are still in Gaza, including 27, the Israeli military says, are dead.
Qatar, one of the mediators in the talks, said the latest proposal was "almost identical" to an earlier version agreed by Israel.
Senior Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi said on social media his group had "opened the door wide to the possibility of reaching an agreement, but the question remains whether Netanyahu will once again close it, as he has done in the past".
Netanyahu has yet to publicly comment on the truce plan, but said last week that his country would accept "an agreement in which all the hostages are released at once and according to our conditions for ending the war".
Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli strikes and fire killed at least 25 people across the territory on Wednesday.
Hamas' October 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of more than 1,200 people, according to Israeli figures.
Israel's offensive has killed more than 62,100 Palestinians, according to figures from the Gaza health ministry.
In the West Bank, Israel approved a major settlement project on Wednesday, in an area that the international community has warned threatens the viability of a future Palestinian state.
The Palestinian Authority swiftly condemned the approval "in the strongest terms", saying it entrenched division in the territory.
