The Israeli military said on Saturday that it had begun mobilizing its forces in preparation to advance farther into Gaza, seize more land and displace more civilians, adding that it was already conducting intense airstrikes ahead of the planned offensive.
Israeli fighter jets bombarded Gaza overnight between Friday and Saturday. Hospitals across Gaza reported that more than 140 people were killed on Friday alone, according to the health ministry in the territory, which added that some casualties were still believed to be trapped under the rubble of airstrikes.
But there were no signs by Saturday of any wide-scale new ground invasion, despite weeks of threats by Israeli leaders. Israeli and Hamas negotiators were still involved in indirect cease-fire talks in Qatar as mediators sought to stave off the threatened Israeli escalation.
An Israeli military official, who requested anonymity to discuss operational details, said that some ground troops had begun to advance in Gaza, but declined to say when, where or how far.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has vowed to drastically expand Israel’s ground campaign in Gaza in an effort to force Hamas to surrender, lay down its weapons, and free the remaining hostages. But 19 months after the war in Gaza began, Israel has failed to either defeat Hamas or free all of the captives.
With the threat of a major Israeli offensive mounting, mediators including Qatar and the Trump administration were trying to cinch an agreement for a new truce in Gaza that would include exchanging the remaining hostages for Palestinians jailed by Israel.
