‘Enormous tension’ in Israel as thousands of reservists called up for Gaza offensive • FRANCE 24

‘Enormous tension’ in Israel as thousands of reservists called up for Gaza offensive • FRANCE 24

Tens of thousands of reservists have begun to report for duty for a new Israeli offensive to seize Gaza City. Prime Minister Benamin Netanyahu accelerating that offensive despite warnings from senior ranks. That is Palestinian health authorities say further Israeli air strikes and shelling across the Gaza Strip have killed at least 100 more people, 35 of them in Gaza city itself. Where we’re going to cross live to Jerusalem, talk to our correspondent Noatanapolski. No, um tell us exactly what this um reserveist call up involves because uh it’s already leading to a lot of protest, isn’t it? We’re just starting to receive some images in fact of protest there in Jerusalem this morning. That’s right. And the protests really have uh upped it up their protest up a notch. I’d say what we’re seeing for now is 40,000 reservists. Not enough to fully invade Gaza City by quite a shot, but 40,000 reservers were supposed to show up yesterday following uh call-up notices to begin preparations for this large operation. Interestingly, we don’t know yet how many actually showed up. There’s been an enormous amount of tension and speculation in Israel about what percentage are going to show up in a situation that was already pre-managed. In other words, the army ordered its reserve commanders to check ahead of time which soldiers were showing up, which companies could be called up to try and manage the situation so that at least in terms of the public view of things, it wouldn’t appear as if there was a collapse of the reserve system on which the Israeli army relies completely for its operation. Um, these reser are not the ones going to be sent into Gaza. It’s important to note the young conscripts are going to be sent into Gaza and these older uh reservists, many in their 30s or 40s, are going to be sent to staff um units and fronts, you know, Lebanon, Syria, all of the other tasks that the conscript have undertaken in the last few months. Um what we’re seeing is a pretty vast social um eruption today. I’d say protesters have barricaded themselves on the roof of the National Library. Fires were set and some cars torched in the very Tony neighborhood of Ravia in Jerusalem where the prime minister’s residences. Two of the most prominent um ministers in Netanyahu and Prime Minister Netanyahu’s government, the minister for national security and the justice minister are referring to today’s protest as acts of terror. Um, if this definition holds, the police actions against these protesters could turn very heavy very quickly. So, all of Jerusalem, all of central Jerusalem is in a sort of lockdown right now and it’s still morning here. Remember, the protest is only supposed to fully swell into its complete size later tonight. Yeah, lots of opposition on the streets as we saw there. Um, no. And we shouldn’t forget as well of course uh there’s a lot of opposition as well or certainly from the army um to what Benamin Netanyahu is still proposing to do in Gaza, isn’t there? This is simply a remarkable thing, Stuart, unprecedented in the history of Israel. And to my knowledge in warfare, at least in modern warfare, the government has given the army orders that are completely opposed by the entire national security echelon. the entire top brass and that is fueling part of these protests. It’s also fueling honestly the fear of many parents whose 18-year-olds just graduated from high school this summer and are conscripted into the army. Israel has a universal draft um for most of the population and you hear more and more parents especially mothers but not only saying my child is not going to become cannon fodder. In fact, the chief of staff of the army in one of his cabinet meetings opposing this operation said that young soldiers were being sent into a fire trap in Gaza. We know that the last we heard the army estimated that at least 100 soldiers are expected to die in the operation to besiege and then occupy Gaza city. And again, this is not supported by the huge majority of uh Israelis. somewhere around 80% of Israelis want the state of Israel to sign a ceasefire agreement and end this war. So it really is a revolt in the country and today we’re seeing it on the streets of Jerusalem very very um I would say you know fiery

Tens of thousands of reservists began to report for duty on Tuesday after being called up ahead of a new Israeli offensive to seize Gaza City. However, there have been “enormous tensions” in Israel over exactly how many reservists will answer the call-up and how many will refuse to serve as protests over the war intensify, reports France 24’s Noga Tarnopolsky.
#Israel #Gaza #war

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