With no progress in hostage negotiations, Defense Minister Israel Katz and the IDF are finalizing plans for a massive ground operation to seize Gaza, involving the evacuation of one million civilians and the mobilization of 60,000 more reservists.
No Breakthrough in Talks
Security officials confirmed Tuesday that hostage negotiations remain deadlocked, forcing Israel to shift focus toward military action. The IDF has accelerated preparations for a full-scale operation to dismantle Hamas and take control of Gaza.
High-Level Military Planning
Defense Minister Israel Katz has been holding intense consultations with IDF Chief of Staff and senior commanders. He is expected to present the finalized operational blueprint to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later this week.
Central to the plan is the evacuation of Gaza’s civilian population, estimated at one million people. Military planners say the process could take weeks to two months, after which ground forces would advance.
The operation is projected to last about four months from entry to completion.
Reservist Surge
The IDF has requested an additional 60,000 reservists, bringing the total to 130,000 mobilized troops. Orders are slated for early September, but commanders fear reservist fatigue may dampen turnout compared to earlier call-ups.
Military assessments suggest that while territorial control over Gaza could be secured within two months, extended deployment will be needed to root out Hamas’s remaining cells, weapons caches, and tunnel networks.
What’s Next
If approved by Netanyahu, the Gaza operation would represent one of Israel’s largest military mobilizations in decades — a campaign designed to deliver a decisive blow to Hamas while reshaping the security landscape of the region.
