Israeli Cabinet ministers approved plans to intensify military operations in the Gaza Strip, an Israeli official said on Monday.
The official said the plan was gradual and involved claiming more territory in the Palestinian enclave, where Israel already controls roughly half of the land. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said the influential security Cabinet, a gathering of top ministers in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, approved the decision early Monday.
The approval comes a day after Israel announced it was calling up tens of thousands of reserve soldiers for the expanded operations in Gaza, which Israel says are meant to increase pressure on Hamas to negotiate a ceasefire that better aligns with Israel's terms.
An eight-week ceasefire with the Hamas militant group collapsed in March when Israel resumed strikes in Gaza, killing hundreds of Palestinians, many of them women and children. Israel also captured swaths of ...