Israel Mobilizes Reserve Soldiers Amid Gaza Attack Fears

In a video posted on Tuesday, Netanyahu said, “Dear soldiers, from regular soldiers and reserve soldiers, throughout this war we have taken very difficult decisions (…) but we implemented them because you gave us, for me and the country, the power to push Israel forward towards an overwhelming victory against Hamas.”

A meeting of the security cabinet late Sunday witnessed arguments between Netanyahu and the ministers who want to move forward in the attack on Gaza City and the Chief of Staff of the Army Eyal Zamir, who urges politicians to reach a ceasefire agreement.

Four ministers and military officials who attended the meeting quoted Zamir as saying that “the campaign will endanger the hostages and put more pressure on the exhausted army,” after a similar dispute between Zamir and Netanyahu’s government last August.

Netanyahu said on August 20 that he had instructed to accelerate the timetable to control Gaza City, but a source close to Netanyahu and military officials stating that the army warned the next day against endangering the hostages and said that it could not start the campaign at least two months ago.

The main reason for the army was the need for more time for humanitarian efforts, but opinion polls showed that a large percentage of reserve soldiers are not satisfied with the government’s plans, as some took an unusual step by accusing the government publicly of lacking a coherent strategy on Gaza or a post -war plan in the Strip or clear standards for victory.

“I don’t really feel that I am doing something that pressures Hamas with a degree that carries it to release the hostages,” one of the reserve soldiers who have been serving in Gaza since October 7 told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak publicly.

The International Committee of the Red Cross considered that the evacuation of Gaza City is “impossible”, and the evacuation plans are “undesirable”, after the Israeli army announced last week, Gaza City, a “dangerous fighting zone” and its emphasis on the need to evacuate it.

The vast majority of the residents of the sector, whose population is over two million people, had to displace several times during the war.

The Israeli military spokesman, Avichai Adraei, said on Tuesday that the army is “logistical and operational preparations in preparation for the expansion of the fighting and a wide recruitment of the reserve forces,” adding that the Al -Mawsa area will provide health services, water and food.

A spokesman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, who said last month, said that the Palestinians are in quarrels “have little or nothing at all from basic services and supplies, including food, water, electricity and tents.”

Pope Laon fourteenth and Israeli President Isaac Herzog agreed to meet in the Vatican on Thursday.

The Israeli presidency issued a statement on Tuesday morning, stating that Herzog would meet the Pope at the invitation of the Pope. “It is usual … responding to the requests of the Pope to meet the heads of state and governments; it is not customary to call them,” the Vatican said in a statement on Tuesday evening.

The Herzog office said in a statement that the two sides will discuss efforts to restore the hostages detained in Gaza, confront anti -Semitism at the global level and protect Christian societies in the Middle East.

The Pope directed a “strong appeal” last week to end the two -year -old conflict between Israel and the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in Gaza, a permanent ceasefire, the liberation of hostages detained in the Strip and the provision of humanitarian aid.

The delegations participating in the global resilience fleet from Tunisia are preparing to accompany the delegations that have previously left Spain and Italy, in an effort to “open a humanitarian corridor and put an end to the ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza,” according to the organizer.

Organizers say this time can be modified due to the return of ships to Barcelona due to the wind and their exit at a later time; But they are ready to sail on Thursday.

The member of the organization’s committee, Wael Nawar, said that the number of participants reached one thousand forty -four countries and is preparing for sailing despite the risks to them.

A fleet carrying humanitarian aid with hundreds of activists on board to Gaza sailed on Monday at 17:30 GMT, starting from Barcelona, after he had hours ago to return to the port due to strong winds, according to what was reported by journalists from Agence France -Presse.

A number of boats loaded with humanitarian aid were launched from the Genoa port from Genoa, to join about 20 ships within the “Global Resilience Fleet”.

These boats are expected to meet the large fleet from Barcelona on the Italian island of Sicily, before continuing the trip towards Gaza in the coming days.

Activists and prominent figures from dozens of countries, including the Swedish environmental activist Gretta Tonberg, the Irish actor Liam Keningham, and Spanish actor Edward Fernandez, are participating in the fleet, along with European deputies and public figures such as the former mayor of Barcelona, Ada Cola, The Portuguese left -wing deputy, Mariana Mortagua.

The fleet consists of the Freedom Flotilla Federation, the Gaza Global Movement, the Al -Samoud Caravan, and the Malaysian “Samoud Nusantara” organization. It includes thousands of activists from 44 countries, and plans to start from Tunisia on September 4.

The United Nations declared a state of starvation in Gaza, warning that about 500,000 people are living in “catastrophic” conditions.

Belgian Foreign Minister Maxim Brevo announced on Tuesday that his country will recognize the “State of Palestine” during the meetings of the United Nations General Assembly scheduled in New York this September, stressing at the same time the intention of Brussels to impose “strict sanctions” on Israel.

“Belgium will recognize the State of Palestine during the meetings of the United Nations General Assembly! There are strict sanctions on the Israeli government,” said Brevo in a post on the X platform.

The Belgian decision comes after French President Emmanuel Macron announced at the end of July that his country will take the same step during the General Assembly meetings from 9 to 23 September.

Since then, more than 12 Western countries have announced their intention to recognize the State of Palestine.

“The ongoing human tragedy in Palestine, especially in Gaza, and the violence committed by Israel in a violation of international law (…) prompted Belgium to make firm decisions to increase pressure on the Israeli government and Hamas terrorists.”

He added that Belgium “will join the signed countries on the New York Declaration, in preparation for the two -state solution.”

Both Canada and Australia have announced their intention to recognize the State of Palestine, while Britain said it would be taken on this step if Israel did not agree to a ceasefire in Gaza.

The United States and Israel considered that the decision of these countries to recognize Palestine is a “reward for Hamas”, which launched an unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

On Tuesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged the United States to “review” its decision to refuse to grant entry visas to officials in the Palestinian Authority to attend the meetings of the United Nations General Assembly this month.

A US official stated on Saturday that the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is among about eighty Palestinian officials who will be denied to obtain visas to participate in the general assembly work, as France is leading efforts to recognize the State of Palestine.

Observers believe that this decision reflects the great support provided by the administration of US President Donald Trump to the Israeli government, in light of the war it is fighting against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Israel continues to reject any calls to establish a Palestinian state, putting the Palestinian Authority in one field with Hamas.

Erdogan, in statements to reporters on the plane on his return from China after his participation in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting, said that the American decision “does not coincide with the reason for the presence of the United Nations.”

In a new toll, a spokesman for the Civil Defense in Gaza, Mahmoud Beltal, stated that “78 martyrs in the Gaza Strip were transferred in the bombing of the occupation since dawn (Tuesday).”

He added that among them 13 were killed in “targeting the occupation planes, the last floor of a building belonging to the Al -Ashi family … west of the Tal Al -Hawa neighborhood” in the southwest of Gaza City.

“The recovery of 11 martyrs from under the rubble, including 3 children and two women … in a new massacre in the Al -Daraj neighborhood” east of Gaza City.

Among the others who were informed on Tuesday are five people who were killed while waiting for a queue for food in the south, nine people who died in the bombing of an apartment, and seven people who were killed with Israeli tank shells.

The Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip said on Tuesday that 13 other Palestinians, including three children, died of hunger and malnutrition during the past twenty -four hours, raising the official number of deaths as a result of these two reasons to at least 361, including 130 children, most of them in the past few weeks, according to the ministry.

Since the war began in 2023, 63,633 people have been killed in the Strip, according to a statement by the Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday.