The action plan presented to the Defense Minister includes mobilizing 60,000 new reservists, in addition to the 20,000 already in service.

A mediator stressed the importance of brokering a ceasefire deal in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday after Hamas showed a “positive response” to a ceasefire deal.

Palestinian residents of Gaza City have come under relentless Israeli bombardment as the military prepares for a major offensive to seize and ethnically cleanse the area, barring emergency workers from reaching people trapped in the residential Zeitoun neighbourhood.

Israel is studying Hamas' response to a proposal for a 60-day ceasefire and release of half the hostages still held in Gaza, two Israeli officials said on Tuesday, although one source reiterated that all Israeli captives must be freed for the war to end.

Khaleel -- the director of orthopedic spine surgery at Medical City Frisco Hospital in Frisco, Texas -- is winding down his third medical mission to Gaza in 16 months. He and two other Dallas-area doctors are at Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City, doing work he describes as more of a calling than a choice.

Israeli forces blew up houses in southern Gaza City, while heavy fire was reported in the al-Tuffah neighbourhood in eastern Gaza City, Al Jazeera correspondents said, bringing the death toll since dawn to 21.

Outline includes troop buildup in northern Gaza and ‘stepped-up pressure on Hamas,’ local media says - Anadolu Ajansı

In the coming days, ground forces, accompanied by the Air Force, will begin moving toward new areas to increase pressure on Hamas. IDF Chief of Staff Lt.