• Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has not provided a precise timetable for when Israeli troops will enter the territory’s largest city
• The Netanyahu government’s plans to expand the Gaza war after more than 22 months of fighting have sparked an international outcry as well as domestic opposition

JERUSALEM: The Israeli military said Wednesday it had approved the “framework” for a new offensive in the Gaza Strip, days after the security cabinet called for the seizure of Gaza City.

Armed forces chief Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir “approved the main framework for the IDF’s operational plan in the Gaza Strip,” a statement released by the army said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has not provided a precise timetable for when Israeli troops will enter the territory’s largest city, where thousands have taken refuge after fleeing previous offensives.

Gaza’s civil defense agency said Israeli air strikes on Gaza City have intensified in recent days, with the residential neighborhoods of Zeitoun and Sabra hit “with very heavy air strikes targeting civilian homes, possibly including high-rise buildings.”

News of the military’s approval of the plan comes hours after Hamas said a senior delegation had arrived in Cairo for “preliminary talks” with Egyptian officials on a temporary truce.

The Netanyahu government’s plans to expand the Gaza war after more than 22 months of fighting have sparked an international outcry as well as domestic opposition.

A Hamas official said Wednesday that Israeli forces were making “aggressive” incursions into Gaza City, after the military approved the framework for a new offensive in the territory.

“The Israeli occupation forces continue to carry out aggressive incursions in Gaza City,” Ismail Al-Thawabta, director general of the Hamas government media office in Gaza, told AFP.

“These assaults represent a dangerous escalation aimed at imposing a new reality on the ground by force, through a scorched earth policy and the complete destruction of civilian property.”

UN-backed experts have warned of widespread famine unfolding in the territory, where Israel has drastically curtailed the amount of humanitarian aid it allows in.

Israel’s offensive has killed at least 61,599 Palestinians, according to figures from the health ministry in Gaza which the United Nations considers reliable.

AFP