Israeli cabinet ministers to vote on whether to expand Gaza fighting

Palestinian women sit by the rubble of a house targeted by an Israeli army strike in Khan Younis (Abdel Kareem Hana/AP)

Israeli cabinet ministers are meeting to vote on whether to intensify military operations in the Gaza Strip, as the army began to call up thousands of reserve soldiers, officials said.

Plans to escalate fighting in Gaza more than 18 months after the war erupted come as a humanitarian crisis in the territory deepens.