An Israeli military official says the country’s top generals have approved plans to begin a new phase of operations in some of Gaza’s most densely populated areas.

The Israeli military said it had called up an additional 60,000 reservists and extended the service of 20,000 "as part of the next phase" of Israel's military operation in Gaza.

Israel’s military announced the first steps of an operation to take over Gaza City on Wednesday and called up tens of thousands of reservists while the government considered a new ceasefire proposal to pause nearly two years of war.