Israeli army calls up tens of thousands of reservists for Gaza offensive

The Israeli military has called up tens of thousands of reservists to "intensify and expand" its operations in Gaza.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it was "increasing the pressure" with the aim of returning hostages held in Gaza and defeating Hamas militants.

Under the plan, the military said it would operate in new areas and "destroy all infrastructure" above and below ground.

The Israeli security cabinet was expected to vote on the military expansion on Sunday, local media reported.

No Israeli hostages have been released since Israel resumed its offensive on 18 March after the collapse of a two-month ceasefire with Hamas. Israel and Hamas blamed each other for the end of the truce.

Since then, Israel has seized large areas of Gaza, displacing hundreds of thousands of Gazans again.

On 2 March, Israel shut crossings to Gaza, preventing all goods, including food, fuel and medicines from entering. Some humanitarian organisations are running out of food and community kitchens say their stocks are dwindling fast.

There is growing international pressure on Israel to lift its blockade, with warnings that mass starvation could be imminent and that intentionally starving civilians is a war crime.

Israeli officials have said its offensive is aimed at securing the release of the remaining 59 hostages being held by Hamas - 24 of whom are believed to be alive.

The military presented Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with its planned staged offensive in Gaza on Friday, according to local media.

In recent weeks, thousands of Israeli reservists have signed letters demanding that Netanyahu's government stop the fighting and concentrate instead on reaching a deal to bring back the hostages.

On Saturday evening, there were fresh protests across Israel calling for an end to the conflict.

In Tel Aviv, the mother of a hostage who remains in captivity called it a "needless war".

The Israeli military said on Sunday that two more Israeli soldiers had been killed in Gaza.

Earlier on Sunday a missile fired from Yemen landed near the main terminal of Israel's Ben Gurion airport , Israeli authorities said.

In Gaza, the Hamas-run health ministry said as of 11:05 local time (09:05 BST) on Sunday, 40 people had been killed in the previous 24 hours, and a further 125 injured.

The Israeli military launched a campaign to destroy Hamas in response to an unprecedented cross-border attack on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

At least 52,535 people have been killed in Gaza during the ensuing war, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.

Of those, 2,436 have been killed since 18 March, when Israel restarted its offensive in the Gaza Strip, the ministry said.