Israel's military has taken the first steps of a planned operation to take over Gaza City, Israeli military spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin said on Wednesday.
Following a clash with Hamas south of Khan Younis in the strip on Wednesday, he said: "We will deepen the attack on Hamas in Gaza City, a stronghold of governmental and military terror for the terrorist organization."
Defrin said troops had already begun circling the outskirts of Gaza City and Hamas was now a "battered and bruised" guerrilla force.
"We have begun the preliminary operations and the first stages of the attack on Gaza City, and already now forces are holding the outskirts of Gaza City," he said.
Israel's military called up tens of thousands of reservists on Wednesday in preparation for the expected assault on Gaza City, as the Israeli government considered a new proposal for a ceasefire after nearly two years of war.
The call-up signals Israel is pressing ahead with its plan to seize Gaza's biggest urban center despite international criticism of an operation likely to force the displacement of many more Palestinians.
But a military official briefing reporters said reserve soldiers would not report for duty until September, an interval that gives mediators some time to bridge gaps between Palestinian militant group Hamas and Israel over truce terms.
Israeli troops clashed on Wednesday with more than 15 Hamas fighters who emerged from tunnel shafts and attacked with gunfire and anti-tank missiles near Khan Younis, south of Gaza City, severely wounding one soldier and lightly wounding two others, an Israeli military official said.
In a statement, Hamas' Al-Qassam Brigades confirmed carrying out a raid on Israeli troops southeast of Khan Younis and engaging Israeli troops at point-blank range. It said one fighter blew himself up among the soldiers, causing casualties, during an attack that lasted several hours.
