Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry says it rejects "any step that would undermine what remains of the health system".

As the earliest stages of a massive assault on Gaza City take shape, Israel is calling up tens of thousands of reservists to take part in the impending military operation.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that he had ordered immediate negotiations aimed at freeing all the remaining hostages in Gaza, as Israeli troops hammered the territory's largest city ahead of a major planned offensive.