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DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel began mobilizing tens of thousands of reservists connected Tuesday arsenic portion of its program to widen its offensive successful Gaza City, which has sparked absorption domestically and condemnation abroad.
The opening of September call-up, announced past month, comes arsenic crushed and aerial forces property guardant and pursue much targets successful bluish and cardinal Gaza, striking parts of Zeitoun and Shijaiyah — 2 occidental Gaza City neighborhoods that Israeli forces person repeatedly invaded during the 23-month warfare against Hamas militants.
Zeitoun, erstwhile Gaza City’s largest vicinity with markets, schools and clinics, has been transformed implicit the past month, with streets being emptied and buildings reduced to rubble arsenic it becomes what Israel's subject past week called a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gaza City is Hamas’ governmental and subject stronghold and, according to Israel, inactive location to a immense passageway web contempt aggregate incursions passim the war. It is besides 1 of the past refuges successful the bluish strip, wherever hundreds of thousands of civilians are sheltering, facing duplicate threats of combat and famine.
The reservist call-up volition beryllium gradual and see 60,000, Israel's subject said past month. It volition besides widen the work of an further 20,000 already connected progressive duty.
Since the world's starring authorization connected nutrient crises declared past period that Gaza City was experiencing famine, malnutrition-related deaths person mounted. Gaza’s Health Ministry said connected Tuesday that a full of 185 radical died of malnutrition successful August — marking the highest number successful months.
A full of 63,557 Palestinians person been killed successful the war, according to the ministry, which says different 160,660 radical person been wounded. The ministry doesn't differentiate betwixt civilians and combatants successful its count, but says women and children marque up astir fractional the dead.
The ministry is portion of the Hamas-run authorities but staffed by aesculapian professionals. U.N. agencies and galore autarkic experts see its figures to beryllium the astir reliable estimation of warfare casualties. Israel disputes them, but hasn't provided its ain toll.
The warfare started with an onslaught connected Oct. 7, 2023, connected confederate Israel successful which Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 radical hostage. Forty-eight hostages are inactive wrong Gaza, astir 20 of them believed by Israel to beryllium alive, aft astir of the remainder were released successful ceasefires oregon different deals.
Metz reported from Jerusalem. Associated Press writer Fatma Khaled successful Cairo contributed to this report.
