'Enormous tension' in Israel as thousands of reservists called up for Gaza offensive

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00:00Tens of thousands of reservists have begun to report for duty

00:03for a new Israeli offensive to seize Gaza City.

00:06Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accelerating that offensive

00:09despite warnings from senior ranks.

00:11And as Palestinian health authorities say further,

00:14Israeli airstrikes and shelling across the Gaza Strip

00:16have killed at least 100 more people, 35 of them, in Gaza City itself.

00:21Well, we're going to cross live to Jerusalem,

00:23talk to our correspondent Nogha Tanopolsky.

00:25Nogha, tell us exactly what this reservist call-up involves

00:30because it's already leading to a lot of protests, isn't it?

00:33We're just starting to receive some images, in fact,

00:35of protests there in Jerusalem this morning.

00:41That's right, and the protests really have upped their protest up a notch, I'd say.

00:46What we're seeing for now is 40,000 reservists,

00:51not enough to fully invade Gaza City by quite a shot,

00:55but 40,000 reservists were supposed to show up yesterday

00:59following call-up notices to begin preparations for this large operation.

01:06Interestingly, we don't know yet how many actually showed up.

01:09There's been an enormous amount of tension and speculation in Israel

01:13about what percentage are going to show up

01:16in a situation that was already pre-managed.

01:19In other words, the army ordered its reserve commanders

01:22to check ahead of time which soldiers were showing up,

01:26which companies could be called up,

01:28to try and manage the situation

01:30so that at least in terms of the public view of things,

01:33it wouldn't appear as if there was a collapse of the reserve system

01:37on which the Israeli army relies completely for its operation.

01:41These reservists are not the ones going to be sent into Gaza.

01:45It's important to note the young conscripts are going to be sent into Gaza,

01:49and these older reservists, many in their 30s or 40s,

01:54are going to be sent to staff units and fronts,

01:59you know, Lebanon, Syria,

02:00all of the other tasks that the conscripts have been undertaking

02:04in the last few months.

02:05What we're seeing is a pretty vast social eruption today, I'd say.

02:13Protesters have barricaded themselves on the roof of the National Library.

02:18Fires were set and some cars torched

02:21in the very tony neighborhood of Rehavia in Jerusalem

02:24where the prime minister's residence is.

02:27Two of the most prominent ministers in Netanyahu's,

02:32the prime minister of Netanyahu's government,

02:33the minister for national security and the justice minister

02:37are referring to today's protests as acts of terror.

02:41If this definition holds,

02:43the police actions against these protesters could turn very heavy very quickly.

02:48So all of Jerusalem, all of central Jerusalem,

02:50is in a sort of lockdown right now,

02:52and it's still morning here.

02:54Remember, the protest is only supposed to fully swell

02:58into its complete size later tonight.

03:00Yeah, lots of opposition on the streets,

03:03as we saw there, Nogar.

03:04And we shouldn't forget as well, of course,

03:06there's a lot of opposition as well,

03:08certainly from the army,

03:09to what Benjamin Netanyahu is still proposing to do in Gaza, isn't there?

03:12This is simply a remarkable thing, Stuart.

03:18Unprecedented in the history of Israel.

03:21And to my knowledge, in warfare, at least in modern warfare,

03:25the government has given the army orders

03:28that are completely opposed by the entire national security echelon,

03:33the entire top brass.

03:35And that is fueling part of these protests.

03:38It's also fueling, honestly, the fear of many parents

03:42whose 18-year-olds just graduated from high school this summer

03:45and are conscripted into the army.

03:47Israel has a universal draft for most of the population.

03:52And you hear more and more parents, especially mothers,

03:55but not only, saying,

03:57my child is not going to become cannon fodder.

04:00In fact, the chief of staff of the army,

04:02in one of his cabinet meetings opposing this operation,

04:06said that young soldiers were being sent into a fire trap in Gaza.

04:11We know that the last we heard,

04:13the army estimated that at least 100 soldiers

04:15are expected to die in the operation to besiege

04:20and then occupy Gaza City.

04:23And again, this is not supported by the huge majority of Israelis.

04:27Somewhere around 80% of Israelis want the state of Israel

04:30to sign a ceasefire agreement and end this war.

04:33So it really is a revolt in the country.

04:37And today we're seeing it on the streets of Jerusalem.

04:39Very, very, I would say, you know, firely.

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