Israel plans to expand its military offensive in the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli security cabinet plans to discuss an expansion of attacks in the Gaza Strip today. According to Israeli media reports, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has already approved such plans in principle. According to media reports, the Israeli military is already sending draft notices to tens of thousands of reservists.

The Israeli news portal "ynet" reported that a major offensive could begin in the coming days. The aim is to increase pressure on the Islamist Hamas to force the release of more hostages.

Netanyahu's office said that in view of developments in Gaza and Syria, as well as "the intense diplomatic and security agenda," the head of government had postponed a visit to Azerbaijan planned for this week.

The Jerusalem Post newspaper reported that the planned mobilization of reservists was massive, but still significantly smaller than immediately after the terrorist attack by Hamas and other extremist groups in Israel on October 7, 2023.

According to "ynet," some of the reservists will replace regular troops currently deployed on the northern border or in the West Bank, so they can be deployed to the Gaza Strip. For some reservists, this is already their seventh call-up since the Gaza war began more than a year and a half ago.

The indirect negotiations for a new ceasefire, mediated by the US, Egypt, and Qatar, have so far remained fruitless. An Israeli government official told "ynet": "As long as Hamas does not release our hostages, we will significantly intensify our military operation." The only remaining chance would be if Hamas agreed to a last-minute agreement.

According to Palestinian authorities, at least eleven people, including women and children, were killed in an airstrike on a building in the southern Gaza Strip. The Israeli army said the target was a Hamas member.

An escalation of the attacks is likely to further exacerbate the already precarious humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip. Aid organizations speak of catastrophic conditions. For a good two months, Israel has stopped allowing aid deliveries into the sealed-off territory, where approximately two million Palestinians live. The army accuses Hamas of profitably reselling the aid to finance its fighters and weapons.

The news portal Axios recently reported that the US and Israel are planning to use a private US company to transport humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, bypassing Hamas. A corresponding agreement is nearing completion.

According to Israeli sources, 24 hostages and the bodies of 35 abducted people are currently being held in the Gaza Strip. Former hostages have reported extremely cruel conditions. US President Donald Trump recently stated that the number of surviving hostages is likely lower than previously thought.

Relatives of hostages demonstrated again for a ceasefire in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening. Einav Zangauker, mother of a male hostage, said, according to "Ynet," that further military pressure endangers the lives of the hostages. Netanyahu is "sending the soldiers into a needless war," she reportedly said.

The war was triggered by the terrorist attack by Hamas and other extremist groups on October 7, 2023, in the Israeli border region. Approximately 1,200 people were killed and over 250 Israelis were abducted. Since then, according to the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip, approximately 52,500 people have been killed. Since the resumption of attacks on March 18 alone, approximately 2,400 people are said to have died.

The Yemeni Houthi militia also continues its attacks on Israel. Warning sirens sounded again on Saturday morning, including in Jerusalem and the Dead Sea. A missile fired from Yemen was intercepted by Israeli missile defense.

Since the resumption of the Israeli offensive in March following the collapse of a two-month ceasefire, the Houthis have regularly fired missiles toward Israel as a sign of solidarity with Hamas. In the Yemeni capital Sanaa, thousands demonstrated on Friday with weapons and placards bearing the Houthi slogan: "God is great, death to America, death to Israel, curse on the Jews, victory to Islam."