Israeli reservists began responding to call-up orders on Tuesday, swelling the military's ranks ahead of a planned offensive to capture Gaza City after nearly two years of devastating war.

Despite mounting pressure at home and abroad to end its campaign, Israel has recently been stepping up operations as it lays the groundwork for seizing the Palestinian territory's largest urban centre.

Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli forces killed at least 85 people on Tuesday across the Strip, which has been in the grips of a major humanitarian crisis for months.

In Tel Aviv on Tuesday, a group of reservists refusing to serve in the war and calling themselves "Soldiers for the Hostages" held a public event urging their fellow reservists and active-duty soldiers not to report for service.

Max Kresch, a member of the 400-strong group, said that as a veteran who had already served in the war, it was his "patriotic duty to refuse to take part".

Continuing the hostilities instead of striking a deal to free the hostages taken by Hamas, he added, was a "betrayal" of both the captives and the Israeli people.

Israeli media has reported that around 40,000 reservists were being mobilised in the first........

© Al Monitor