Israel mobilizes 16,000 more reservists

Israel mobilized 16,000 additional reservists, taking their total to 86,000, as military operations in the Gaza Strip continue, an army spokeswoman said on Thursday (July 31).

"The army has issued 16,000 additional mobilization orders to allow troops on the ground to rest, which takes the total number of reservists to 86,000," said the spokeswoman.

Israel's security cabinet, which met for five hours on Wednesday, unanimously decided to pursue attacks against Hamas "terrorist targets" and other operations to destroy a network of tunnels used by the Islamist movement between Gaza and Israel, public radio said. Another meeting of the cabinet, which comprises eight ministers, is scheduled for Thursday afternoon.

Public radio quoted Major General Sami Turgeman, the senior officer for the Gaza region, as saying that the destruction of militants' remaining tunnels into Israel could be complete "in a few days".