The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, as well as the opposition and a large part of the Israeli public, are strongly against the expansion of the operation, arguing it would put their loved ones at even more risk.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was due to meet with a small group of senior ministers on Thursday to discuss plans for the military to take control of more territory in Gaza, despite mounting criticism at home and abroad over the nearly two-year-old war there.

Most Israeli Jews thought their country was waging a just war. But since mid-July, mainstream news bulletins that had shunned pictures of suffering in Gaza have begun showing footage of the emaciated and cast doubt on the morality of the cause.