Israel calls up its reservists

'Tens of thousands' needed for offensive

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Israel was issuing orders to call up tens of thousands of reserv-ists ahead of an expanded offensive in Gaza, Israeli media reported Saturday, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attacked truce mediator Qatar.

Several news outlets reported the military had begun sending the orders for reservists to replace conscripts and active-duty soldiers in Israel and the occupied West Bank so they can be redeployed to Gaza.

A military spokesperson neither confirmed nor denied the reports, but relatives of AFP journalists were among those who received mobilisation orders.

According to Israel's public broadcaster, the security cabinet is scheduled to meet yesterday to approve the expansion of the military offensive in Gaza.

Israel resumed major operations across Gaza on 18 March amid deadlock over how to proceed with a two-month ceasefire that had largely halted the war sparked by Hamas’s October 2023 attack.

Qatar, which hosts Hamas's political office, brokered the truce alongside the US and Egypt that came into effect in January. Efforts to secure a new deal, however, have appeared to stall in recent weeks.