Israel begins Gaza City operation despite ceasefire talks, Hamas blames Netanyahu

UPDATED: Aug 21, 2025 05:10 IST

Israel’s military has launched the opening phase of a ground operation to take control of Gaza City, the largest urban stronghold of Hamas, while the government weighed a new ceasefire plan to pause nearly two years of war.

“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, the military’s spokesperson, told reporters.

The announcement came alongside a call-up of tens of thousands of reservists, a move that signalled Israel’s intent to press ahead despite growing international criticism of an operation expected to drive many more Palestinians from their homes, Reuters reported.

Defrin said Hamas was now a “battered and bruised” guerrilla force. “We will deepen the attack on Hamas in Gaza City, a stronghold of governmental and military terror for the terrorist organization,” he added.

Earlier in the day, a military official suggested reservists would not report for duty until September, leaving room for mediators to keep working on bridging the gaps between Hamas and Israel over a truce deal. But after clashes erupted between Israeli troops and Hamas fighters inside Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he had sped up the timetable for capturing Hamas strongholds.

Hamas, in a statement on Telegram, accused Netanyahu of blocking peace efforts. “Netanyahu’s disregard for the mediators’ proposal proves that he is the real obstructionist of any agreement,” the group said.

Israel’s security cabinet this month approved plans to expand the military campaign into Gaza City. The Israeli army says it already controls about 75 per cent of the Gaza Strip, nearly two years after the war erupted on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led gunmen killed 1,200 people in southern Israel and seized 251 hostages.

The Gaza health ministry says over 62,000 Palestinians have been killed since then, most of them women and children, though the toll does not distinguish between civilians and militants.

Mediators say Hamas has accepted a proposal for a 60-day ceasefire that would involve releasing some of the remaining hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel. Netanyahu’s government has insisted that all 50 hostages still in captivity be freed at once. Israeli officials believe only 20 are alive.

Meanwhile, tensions rose further after Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a far-right member of Netanyahu’s coalition, announced final approval for a new settlement project in the occupied West Bank—an initiative widely condemned internationally and seen as erasing any hope for a Palestinian state.

Foreign leaders have urged Israel to pull back from a full-scale assault on Gaza City, warning of massive civilian casualties. Israeli officials say they will open safe routes to help civilians leave before the military pushes deeper into the city.

- Ends

With inputs from Reuters

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