On August 20, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) went into the active stage of its ground assault within the Gaza Strip’s biggest city. Israeli troops already hold the city’s outskirts, said an IDF spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin. The army is seeking to set terms for the evacuation of civilians and to deliver them humanitarian aid, such as medical treatment, Defrin added.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Katz will endorse the full occupation plan of Gaza City on 21 August. On 8 August, the security cabinet approved the operation. The paper demanded, concurrent with the hostilities, humanitarian relief to the civilian population beyond the war zones.
The attack coincided with an offer by the radical Hamas movement to release ten hostages in exchange for a 60-day cease-fire. Tel Aviv, however, in Israeli media reports, still holds the need for taking military control of the entire Gaza Strip.
Earlier, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that the goal of the operation was to establish military control over Gaza as a whole. According to him, this is the only way to guarantee Israel’s long-term security.
