The Israeli army has announced it will be recruiting two additional brigades to serve in Gaza despite the West issuing calls for an immediate ceasefire.

“Approximately two brigades” of reservists will be called up for operation activities in Gaza where fighting has been going on for over six months, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Sunday.

“Their calling will allow the continuous effort and readiness to defend the State of Israel and the security of civilians,” it said.

The announcement was made a week after the IDF pulled its troops from the southern city of Khan Yunis amid expectations that they could be later used for a ground manoeuvre in the southern city of Rafah, something that Israel’s allies have strongly opposed.

It was not immediately clear if the new battalion could be used for action in Rafah.

Israel called up about 200,000 reservists at the start of the war against Hamas, most of whom are believed to have already been discharged.

The unprecedented military backing against Israel, received from the US against Iran, could make Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu more amenable to US demands and to avoid a ground operation in Rafah. The only city in Gaza that has been spared the devastating bombing and ground manoeuvres like in the rest of the sealed-off enclave.

In a possible indication of that, Israel’s public broadcaster Kan on Sunday evening cited unnamed officials, saying Mr Netanyahu has decided to postpone the operation in Rafah. Just a week earlier, he insisted that a date had been set for an offensive.

In Gaza, hundreds of civilians, most of whom had been displaced several times in the course of the war, were walking on a coastal road to the north in the hope of returning to their homes.

Some of them were met by Israeli troops who responded to the procession with live fire and grenades, according to multiple media reports.

One unnamed woman told the Al Jazeera TV channel she and her family had to turn back when they saw the Israeli troops opening fire at them.

There were unconfirmed reports of casualties, with the Anadolu news agency citing medical sources putting the death toll at five people.

The IDF said on Sunday it has not allowed the return of Palestinians to the north of Gaza yet, saying it was “still a combat zone” and blaming movement by Gazans on unsubstantiated rumours that the road was clear.

Hamas has insisted on the return of Palestinians to the north of Gaza, which was worst-hit by fighting, as one of the conditions for a possible cease-fire deal with Israel. The Israeli delegation has so far rejected it.

Meanwhile, Iran’s massive missile attack on Israel could expedite a US bill on wartime aid for Israel that has been stuck in Congress.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said on Sunday he would try this week to advance the security package that includes funding for Israel as well as Ukraine and Washington’s allies in Asia.

The package with $95 billion in aid to US allies as well as funds for humanitarian aid for Gaza has been sitting in Congress for over two months.