The Israeli military is preparing to invade Gaza City even as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu weighs Hamas’ most recent ceasefire proposal that would release some of the hostages still held captive, the New York Times reported Wednesday.
Israel has mustered its forces outside the city, while issuing an order calling up 50,000 reservists to backfill for the soldiers involved in the offensive, according to the NYT. Hamas has agreed to an Arab-proposed ceasefire agreement that would see a portion of the remaining hostages in Gaza returned, but Netanyahu faces opposition from hardliners in the government pressuring him to reject the deal.
An Israeli official described the campaign in a Wednesday briefing as “gradual, precise and targeted,” according to the NYT.
A previous ceasefire deal pitched in July, which would have released 10 living hostages and 18 dead bodies, collapsed despite Israel endorsing the deal, according to the New York Times. Netanyahu has not revealed his position on the most recent proposal, which also proposes the same number of hostage releases.
As of June, there are an estimated 50 hostages remaining in Hamas captivity.
Israel has been weighing a complete occupation of the Gaza Strip after multiple failed attempts to broker a peace deal. However, the move has faced internal opposition from the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), who see an occupation as unsustainable.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir reportedly warned in early August that such an occupation would likely put soldiers and the lives of the remaining hostages at excessive risk.
Arab nations have recently increased their involvement in negotiating peace in the Gaza Strip, with the Arab League urging the terrorist organization to disarm and relinquish governance of the region in July.
Recent protests inside Israel have only increased pressure on Netanyahu to negotiate for a release of the hostages in Gaza, with hundreds of thousands of people reportedly taking to the streets to voice their discontent with the progress of ceasefire negotiations.
The IDF did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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