Israel's Defence Minister, Israel Katz, has authorised the call-up of around 60,000 reservists to occupy Gaza City, drawing severe criticism from several countries across the globe.
Katz named the plan Gideon’s Chariots B, after the offensive “Gideon’s Chariots”, a ground offensive that was launched in May to expand the occupation and fully evacuate Palestinians from northern Gaza.
Gaza City
On the ground in Gaza City on Wednesday, Mustafa Qazzaat, head of the emergency committee in the Gaza municipality, described the situation as "catastrophic".
He told AFP that "large numbers" of people were fleeing their neighbourhoods, with the majority of those displaced "on the roads and streets without shelter."
Türkiye
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said the Netanyahu government's plan to place Gaza under Israeli military control is unacceptable.
France
Israel's plan "will drag the region into a permanent war," the French president posted on social media, reiterating his call for an "international stabilisation mission".
French President Emmanuel Macron said that Israel's "military offensive to occupy Gaza City can only lead to a complete disaster for both peoples.”
Germany
Germany has slammed Israel's decision, calling instead for "an immediate and lasting ceasefire".
“We reject the escalation of these military operations. We call on all parties and the international community to end the conflict now through an immediate and lasting ceasefire,” Steffen Meyer, deputy government spokesperson, told a press briefing in Berlin.
Jordan
Jordan's foreign minister has said that Israel's assault on Gaza had caused "massacres and starvation" and that its wider actions were "killing all prospects" for peace in the Middle East.
Egypt
Egyptian Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouly said that the time has come to take decisive and swift measures to deter Israeli aggression.
Madbouly stressed that the time has come not only to condemn the Israeli aggression and its systematic policy of genocide and liquidation of the Palestinian cause, but also to take swift and decisive actions to deter it, including the recognition of the Palestinian state.
Belgium
Belgium's Foreign Ministry urged Israel to reverse its decision to launch the "Gideon Chariots II" operation in Gaza.
"The offensive on Gaza City will lead to more death, destruction and mass displacement and will not contribute to the release of the hostages," the ministry warned on X.
