Israel’s military said Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir approved the main framework for a new operational plan in the Gaza Strip on 13 Aug., moving the Israel Defense Forces into what the government calls the “decisive stage” of the 22-month war against Hamas. The blueprint, endorsed after consultations with senior commanders and intelligence officials, sets out the capture of Gaza City, adjacent refugee camps and areas of central and southern Gaza that remain outside Israeli control. The decision follows a security-cabinet directive from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has laid out five goals for an end-state that include disarming Hamas, freeing all hostages, and maintaining Israel’s overriding security authority while installing a non-Israeli civilian administration. No timetable for ground operations was disclosed, but Zamir ordered preparations for additional reservist call-ups to bolster forces already holding roughly three-quarters of the enclave. Residents and civil-defence officials in Gaza reported intensified airstrikes and tank advances in the Zeitoun and Tal al-Hawa neighbourhoods of Gaza City. Gaza’s civil-defence agency said at least 75 Palestinians were killed on Wednesday, while the territory’s Health Ministry puts the cumulative toll at about 61,722 dead and 154,525 wounded since the conflict erupted in October 2023. Diplomatic efforts continue in Cairo, where a Hamas delegation is discussing a 60-day cease-fire proposal brokered by Egypt, Qatar and the United States. UN-backed experts warn that Gaza faces widespread famine; local authorities say 235 people, including 106 children, have died from hunger and malnutrition. The expanded campaign has drawn criticism from four permanent members of the UN Security Council and from Israeli protesters worried about the fate of the 49 hostages still held in Gaza, 27 of whom the military believes are dead. Netanyahu’s government maintains the offensive is necessary to dismantle Hamas and secure the release of the captives.