Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday said he was going to approve the military's plan to take over Gaza City while at the same time ordering the resumption of immediate negotiations to free the remaining hostages.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army continued to hammer the region's largest city ahead of a major planned offensive.
"I have come to approve the IDF's (military's) plans to take control of Gaza City and defeat Hamas," Netanyahu said in a video statement. He added, "At the same time, I have instructed to immediately begin negotiations for the release of all our hostages and the end of the war under conditions acceptable to Israel."
The calls for renewed negotiations come just a day after the defence ministry approved a plan to call around 60,000 reservists to help take over Gaza City, the final stronghold of the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
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Without providing any details of what the talks would entail, the Israeli PM said, "These two matters -- defeating Hamas and releasing all our hostages -- go hand in hand."
{{/usCountry}}Without providing any details of what the talks would entail, the Israeli PM said, "These two matters -- defeating Hamas and releasing all our hostages -- go hand in hand."
{{/usCountry}}Mediators have been awaiting an official Israeli response after Hamas accepted the latest ceasefire proposal earlier this week. The new deal comprises the staggered release of hostages, while Israel has insisted that any deal should see all the captives released at once, news agency AFP reported, citing Palestinian sources.
Israel's Gaza take over plan
Hamas on Wednesday condemned Israel's Gaza take over plan and said that it showed its blatant disregard for the efforts of the mediators to broker a ceasefire and hostage release deal.
"Today's announcement by the terrorist occupation army of the start of an operation against Gaza City and its nearly one million residents and displaced persons... demonstrates... a blatant disregard for the efforts made by the mediators," the militant group said in a statement.
The Red Cross also joined the international condemnation of Israel's move and called its actions "intolerable".
Meanwhile, the Israeli reservists said that the call-up of reservists would begin in early September, adding that the second phase of operation "Gideon's Chariots" had begun.
An air struck on the northern outskirts of Gaza City on Thursday, with a massive explosion leaving behind large plumes of smoke rising into the sky.
Strikes reportedly increased late in the afternoon as several large explosions were heard near the border.
"We are advancing with the efforts toward operations in Gaza City," military chief Eyal Zamir told troops on Thursday.
"We already have troops operating on the outskirts of the city, and more forces will join them later on," he added.
The Israeli military said that it also began informing medical personnel and air groups in northern Gaza this week to start making evacuation plans and transferring their equipment to the south.
However, the Gaza health ministry rejected the Israeli army's call on Thursday and said it would not agree to "any step that would undermine what remains of the health system after the systematic destruction carried out by the occupation authorities".
The UN humanitarian agency has warned that Israel's plan to expand military operations in Gaza City would have a "horrific humanitarian impact" on the already exhausted population.