Israel calls up 60,000 reserve soldiers to storm Gaza City

Israel will call up 60,000 reservists in the coming days as it prepares for a major military offensive to occupy Gaza City, one of the most densely populated areas of the Strip.

Notices are expected to be issued in waves, with the first tens of thousands reporting for duty by early September and additional deployments planned over the coming months, according to Israeli media.

The mobilisation is part of a wider plan known as 'Gideon’s Chariots 2', approved this week by Defence Minister Israel Katz after being presented by Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir and senior commanders.

Katz told Haaretz that "when the operation is complete, Gaza’s features will change and it will not look as it did before". The plan will later be brought before Israel's political-security cabinet for final ratification.

According to Israeli media, tens of thousands of reservists will not only reinforce units headed for Gaza but also replace regular forces currently stationed in the occupied West Bank and along the northern border. Those troops would then be redeployed to the Strip. The army estimates that the capture of Gaza City could take several weeks.

The offensive is expected to displace around one million Palestinians from Gaza City to the south. Reports in Hebrew media said that so-called "humanitarian arrangements" have been prepared to absorb civilians forced from their homes, including aid distribution centres and field hospitals.

Israeli officials have said the aims of the operation include taking control of Gaza City, freeing Israeli captives held in the Strip, disarming Hamas and Gaza as a whole, removing Hamas leadership, and establishing a permanent security buffer around Israeli towns.

Katz was quoted by the Ynet news site as saying the plan would also ensure "the army's freedom of security operations" inside Gaza.

This is not the first time such promises have been made. Earlier in the war, Netanyahu and senior officials touted the original operation 'Gideon's Chariots' as the decisive campaign that would defeat Hamas. In practice, the operation ended without securing its intended goals, despite Israel claiming to have captured three-quarters of Gaza’s territory.

The decision to label the current strategy Gideon’s Chariots 2 came only after internal debate within the Israeli security establishment over how to frame the next stage of fighting.

On 8 August, the Israeli government had already endorsed a wider plan put forward by Netanyahu for the full reoccupation of the Strip. That plan begins with the takeover of Gaza City through the displacement of its population and incursions into residential neighbourhoods.

It then envisions a second phase of assaults against refugee camps in central Gaza, many of which have already suffered widespread destruction.

The build-up for a new assault comes even as negotiations continue over a proposed ceasefire agreement, with Hamas agreeing to all of Israel's previous demands for a temporary ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal.

While regional mediators press for a halt to the fighting, observers note that Israel’s leadership has actively chosen major military escalation, signalling its intent to cause further mass displacement, expanded military operations, and further devastation for civilians already enduring the brunt of the war.

Over 62,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel during its war on the Strip, the vast majority of whom are civilians. Much of the enclave has been annihilated, with 70 percent of civilian infrastructure destroyed since October 2023.