JERUSALEM: Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz said Wednesday that the army was seizing large areas in Gaza and incorporating them into buffer zones cleared of their inhabitants, in a bid to force Hamas to release hostages.
“Large areas are being seized and added to Israel’s security zones, leaving Gaza smaller and more isolated,” Katz said during a visit to the newly announced Morag Corridor between the southern Gaza cities of Rafah and Khan Yunis.
In his comments, Katz said that the population of Gaza was already “evacuating from combat zones”. He appealed to Gazans to force Hamas from power and return the hostages.
“This is the only way to stop the war,” he said, threatening that the military would “move to more intense fighting throughout Gaza until the hostages are freed and Hamas is defeated”.
Israel expands military effort in Gaza, defence minister says
Katz also said that Israel was working to implement US President Donald Trump’s plan for the “voluntary emigration” of Gaza residents.
Israel resumed intense strikes on the Gaza Strip on March 18, ending a two-month ceasefire with Hamas. Efforts to restore the truce have so far failed.
Earlier on Wednesday, Gaza’s civil defence agency said an Israeli strike on a residential building in Gaza City killed at least 23 people, including children and women.
When asked by AFP about the strike, the Israeli military said it “struck a senior Hamas terrorist who was responsible for planning and executing terrorist attacks” from the area.
It did not give the target’s name and renewed its claim that the group uses “human shields”, which Hamas denies.
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