Israel Begins 1st Steps of Operation to Take Gaza City

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced that it had begun the first steps of an operation to take over Gaza City, Gaza Strip, on Aug. 20.

“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,” Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, Israel’s military spokesperson, told reporters.

“The Nahal and the 7th Brigade, under the command of the 99th Division, are operating on the ground in the Zeitoun area on the outskirts of Gaza City.”

According to Defrin, the move had already achieved some goals.

“In recent days, our troops have located an underground tunnel in which weapons were located inside Gaza City,” he said.

Defrin further said that in conjunction with the military assault, Israel was also working to establish a humanitarian effort led by the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories, an official Israeli unit tasked with the coordination and facilitation of humanitarian initiatives in the West Bank.

Fresh aid distribution centers were also being set up as part of an approach that would “sever” the population’s dependence on the Hamas terrorist group, he said. He said the IDF would warn civilians in the area and allow them to evacuate.

Gaza City, located in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, is the largest city in the enclave. It has an estimated population of 823,000, according to World Population Review, although that figure does not account for fluctuations during the war.

As part of the operation, Israel called up about 60,000 reservists ahead of an expansion of its operation in the Gaza Strip.

In a post on X, the IDF stated that the new reserve orders were issued on the morning of Aug. 20, while another 20,000 reservists had their service extended as part of the next phase of Operation Gideon’s Chariots.

The operation is named after the biblical warrior Gideon, who, according to the Book of Judges, led the Israelites to victory over the Midianite army with just 300 men.

Also on Aug. 20, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “directed that the timetables—for seizing control of the last terrorist strongholds and the defeat of Hamas—be shortened,” according to an X post from the official account of the prime minister of Israel. No details have yet been given.

A war Cabinet meeting is scheduled to take place on Aug. 21 to discuss the plans to take Gaza City, according to Israel Hayom.

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres on Aug. 21 again called for an immediate cease-fire in the Gaza Strip.

“It is vital to reach immediately a cease-fire in Gaza … to avoid the death and destruction that a military operation against Gaza City would inevitably cause,” Guterres said in Tokyo.

Guterres called for the unconditional release of hostages held by Hamas and urged Israel to reverse a decision to expand the construction of settlements in the West Bank, which Israel calls Judea and Samaria.

The Israeli settlement plan, which would cut off the West Bank from East Jerusalem, was announced last week and received the final go-ahead from a Defense Ministry planning commission on Aug. 20.

Earlier this week, Arab mediators and Hamas said that the leaders of the terrorist group had agreed to cease-fire terms, although similar announcements have been made in the past that did not lead to a lasting truce.

Qatar announced the move and said it was awaiting an Israeli response.

The cease-fire would be for 60 days, during which an unspecified number of prisoners and hostages would be swapped. The deal would also involve the repositioning of Israeli forces and an increase in humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip, according to Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Majed bin Mohammed Al Ansari.

The war in Gaza has raged since Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and capturing 251 hostages.

The terrorist group still holds 50 hostages. The Israeli government believes that 20 of them are still alive.

The Hamas-controlled Gaza Ministry of Health stated on Aug. 18 via Telegram that more than 62,000 people have been killed since the start of the war. The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in these casualty figures, and The Epoch Times cannot verify the accuracy of that figure.