OAN Staff Blake Wolf
10:21 AM – Wednesday, August 20, 2025
Israel’s military has announced that it will be calling up tens of thousands of reservists as it prepares for its full-scale military occupation of Gaza.
While speaking with Reuters on Wednesday, an anonymous Israeli military official stated that Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will soon begin operating in Gaza City, where Hamas terrorists are still operating.
“We will be moving into a new phase of combat, a gradual, precise and targeted operation in and around Gaza City, which currently serves as Hamas’ main military and governing stronghold,” the official stated.
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The official added that Israeli troops will be targeting the underground network of tunnels Hamas utilizes as military infrastructure.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz approved the plan to move forward with the new military campaign, which included calling up 60,000 reservists while extending the service of 20,000, according to the Associated Press. This increase would nearly double the number of active reservists to 120,000.
The initiative was reportedly pushed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prior to being greenlit by the Israeli security council.
Netanyahu stated earlier this month that the objective of the new offensive is to secure the release of the remaining hostages and to completely wipe out Hamas in order to ensure that the terrorist group can never again threaten Israel.
Currently, Israeli troops are already active in the Jabaliya and Zeitoun neighborhoods of Gaza City in order to prepare for the expanded operation.
Gaza City, which Netanyahu has dubbed as Hamas’s “last true fortress,” represents the Iran-backed terrorist group’s military and governing stronghold, while also providing housing for hundreds of thousands of civilians.
The operation, which could begin in a matter of days, remains controversial. Thousands of protestors took to the streets of Tel Aviv on Sunday to demand that the Israeli government secure the release of the remaining hostages still held in Gaza. Israeli officials maintain that dismantling Hamas’s stronghold in Gaza is essential to ensuring the hostages’ safe return and preventing future massacres like October 7th.
The conflict began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas terrorists launched a brutal attack on Israel, murdering approximately 1,200 individuals and abducting around 250 others. As of August 20th, 205 of the 255 hostages have safely returned to Israel. Of the remaining 50 hostages, Israeli officials believe that 20 are still alive.
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