Thousands of Israeli reservists have begun mobilizing for duty as Israel escalates its military offensive to seize control of Gaza City, marking a pivotal and deeply contentious phase in a conflict that has already spanned nearly two years. The mass call-up, which started on September 2, 2025, comes as Israeli ground forces push into the city’s outskirts, a zone the military has designated as a Hamas stronghold and, according to Israeli officials, the nerve center of a vast tunnel network used by the armed group.
According to BBC and Deutsche Welle, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have announced plans to mobilize approximately 60,000 reservists for "Operation Gideon's Chariots II," extending the service of an additional 20,000 who were already on active duty. Israeli Army Radio reported that about 40,000 reservists would immediately report for duty, with many expected to be deployed not only to Gaza but also to the occupied West Bank and northern Israel. This redeployment aims to free up regular army units for the Gaza offensive. However, Israeli media noted that some combat units are seeing lower turnout than in previous call-ups, as reservists who have served multiple tours during the 22-month war are seeking exemptions due to personal or financial reasons.
The city itself is under relentless aerial and artillery bombardment. Local hospitals reported that more than 50 Palestinians were killed in Gaza City since midnight on September 2, with the overall death toll reaching at least 95 across the territory that day. Al-Shifa Hospital, the largest in Gaza City, recorded 35 deaths, including nine people killed in an airstrike on the Tal al-Hawa neighborhood and seven in Sheikh Radwan. Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry said that 13 Palestinians, including three children, died from malnutrition in the previous 24 hours, bringing the total number of reported malnutrition deaths during the war to 361, with 185 occurring just in August.
The humanitarian situation is rapidly deteriorating. The United Nations estimates that nearly a million people remain in Gaza City, despite evacuation orders and the movement of some 20,000 residents to the south over the past two weeks. UN officials have repeatedly warned that a full-scale offensive on such a densely populated area would be "beyond catastrophic," not just for Gaza City but for the entire strip. The UN has also cautioned that the forced displacement of hundreds of thousands of people further south could amount to a war crime, describing it as "a recipe for further disaster." Southern hospitals, such as Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, are now operating several times beyond their capacity, with medics reporting that most casualties are children and the elderly. "We can't deal with any more cases due to high pressure on us and lack of supplies. The CT [scanner] is now broken down, so we are working blindly," one doctor told BBC. "The current situation is catastrophic."
Global food security experts have confirmed that famine is occurring in Gaza City, projecting that it will soon spread to the central city of Deir al-Balah and the southern city of Khan Younis by the end of September. The UN has described the famine as a "man-made disaster," emphasizing Israel’s obligation under international humanitarian law to ensure the provision of food and medical supplies to Gaza’s population. Israel, for its part, disputes the health ministry’s numbers on malnutrition-related deaths and maintains that there are no restrictions on aid deliveries.
The military campaign is a direct response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed approximately 1,200 people and resulted in 251 hostages being taken. Since then, Gaza’s health ministry reports that at least 63,633 people have been killed in the territory. The stated objectives of the current offensive, as articulated by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, are to defeat Hamas and secure the release of all hostages. As of early September, Hamas was holding 48 hostages, with 20 believed to be alive.
At a government meeting on Sunday, Netanyahu declared, "The security cabinet agreed the IDF's objectives were defeating Hamas and releasing all of our hostages." However, this stance has come under intense scrutiny and sparked fierce debate within Israel’s government and military leadership. The IDF’s Chief of Staff, Lt Gen Eyal Zamir, has urged Netanyahu to accept a proposal from regional mediators that would see about half of the hostages released during a 60-day truce. Zamir warned that the expanded offensive could put the hostages’ lives at risk and stretch the army’s resources even thinner. According to Israeli media, heated exchanges erupted between Zamir and government ministers, with Zamir reportedly stating that he "did everything to convince against the plan, but made it clear several times that he would carry it out."
Despite these warnings, Netanyahu has insisted that Israel will only accept a comprehensive deal that results in the release of all hostages and the disarmament of Hamas. In an address to reservists at Nachshonim base, Zamir declared, "We are going to increase and enhance the strikes of our operation, and that is why we called you. We will not stop the war until we defeat this enemy."
Meanwhile, the conflict’s repercussions are reverberating far beyond the battlefield. In the United Kingdom, police arrested five members of the NGO Defend Our Juries, which has organized protests against the government’s ban of another group, Palestine Action, as a terrorist organization. The arrests, carried out under the 2000 Terrorism Act, have sparked debate about free speech and the limits of political protest. A spokesperson for Defend Our Juries called the arrests "an unprecedented assault on free speech in our country," adding, "This level of political repression is not what we expect in a democracy. It's the kind of tactic typically associated with authoritarian regimes around the world."
Elsewhere, the Iran-backed Houthi rebel group in Yemen claimed responsibility for attacking a ship in the northern Red Sea with drones and a missile, citing its connection to Israel. The Houthis have launched hundreds of attacks on Israel and commercial shipping in the Red Sea since the start of the Gaza war, severely disrupting one of the world’s most vital maritime trade routes.
On the international stage, Belgium has announced it will recognize Palestine as a state at the upcoming UN General Assembly, joining several other countries in making the move. Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot described the situation in Gaza as "a humanitarian tragedy" and announced "tough sanctions" on the Israeli government, while also condemning violence by both Israel and Hamas. "It's not about punishing the Israeli people, but to make sure that their government respects international and humanitarian law and takes measures to improve the situation on the ground," Prevot said. Israel has condemned these recognitions, arguing that they reward terrorism.
Against this backdrop, Israel’s campaign continues to generate both domestic and international controversy, with the fate of civilians and hostages, the specter of famine, and the broader regional implications all hanging in the balance. As the offensive on Gaza City intensifies, the world watches anxiously, hoping for a resolution that can bring relief to a region long mired in suffering and uncertainty.