Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed plans to expand military operations in the Gaza Strip with Defense Minister Israel Katz and Chief of General Staff Eyal Zamir, the Ynet portal reported.
According to the media outlet, during a meeting with the prime minister that lasted several hours, Katz and Zamir presented Netanyahu with a previously approved plan to increase military pressure on the radical Palestinian movement Hamas.
The plans to expand the military operation in the enclave, which include additional mobilization of thousands of reservists, could be presented to the cabinet for approval on May 4.
“Until Hamas releases the hostages, Israel will significantly escalate its military actions“, Ynet quoted a military source as saying. At the same time, according to the portal, there is no question of capturing the entire territory of the strip.
On April 24, Zamir said that the Israeli army would expand the scope of its operation in Gaza if no progress was made in negotiations to release hostages held in the enclave. On March 18, the military resumed military actions in the strip, launching massive strikes against it, ending the truce established in January of this year.
According to the latest information from the Israeli side, Hamas is currently holding 24 hostages and the bodies of 35 dead prisoners in Gaza.