FLASH
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A large number of Palestinians are leaving Gaza after the Israeli army began the first stages of the occupation.
Hours after the government approved the invasion plan, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced that they had begun the occupation of Gaza City.
"Our forces now control the outskirts of the city," said IDF spokeswoman Brigadier General Effie Defrin, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered an acceleration of operations to capture the last Hamas strongholds in Gaza.
In his statement, Defrin confirmed that approximately 60,000 recruitment letters will be sent out this week and another 20,000 are expected by the end of the month. The IDF spokesman also reported that the Israeli military is working to provide enough space for Gaza civilians to safely evacuate and receive aid and medical care.
The approval of the Gaza City invasion plan and the initial operations are taking place against the backdrop of a Hamas proposal, backed by mediators Egypt and Qatar, for a partial deal that would include the release of 10 live hostages and a 60-day ceasefire. Israel has yet to formally respond to the proposal.
Thousands of Palestinians, who face increasingly starving conditions in Gaza, began leaving in recent days in anticipation of the attack.
Israeli troops have established a foothold on the outskirts of the city, home to more than a million Palestinians, after days of intense bombing and artillery fire.
This has prompted UN Secretary-General António Guterres to reiterate calls for an immediate ceasefire to avoid the death and destruction that an attack would cause.
Israel wants to signal that it is moving forward with its plan to occupy all of Gaza City, despite international criticism.
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said yesterday that Israel's attack on Gaza had caused "massacres and famine" and that its broader actions were "killing all prospects" for peace in the Middle East.
French President Emmanuel Macron supported this stance, saying the proposed offensive would lead to a "real catastrophe" and drag the region into a permanent war.
Germany stated that it was finding it 'increasingly difficult to understand how these actions would lead to the release of all hostages or to a ceasefire'.
The Israeli government announced its intention to occupy the entire Gaza Strip after indirect talks with Hamas over a ceasefire and a hostage release deal failed last month.
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