Israel to seize parts of Gaza as military operation expands
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The Israeli campaign in the Gaza Strip has forced almost the entire population of 2.3 million in the enclave from their homes.
PHOTO: AFP
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JERUSALEM – Israel announced a major expansion of military operations in Gaza on April 2, saying large areas of the enclave would be seized and added to its security zones, accompanied by large-scale evacuations of the population.
In a statement, Defence Minister Israel Katz said evacuations would take place in areas where there was fighting, while urging Gazans to eliminate Hamas and return Israeli hostages as the only way to end the war.
He said the operation would clear out militants and infrastructure, “and seize large areas that will be added to the security zones of the state of Israel”.
Senior Hamas official Basem Naim told Reuters that Israeli hostages would be released only through negotiations, and not via military pressure.
The Israeli military had already issued evacuation warnings to Gazans living around the southern city of Rafah and towards the city of Khan Younis, telling them to move to the Al-Mawasi area on the shore, previously designated a humanitarian zone.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said 53 people were killed in Israeli strikes on April 2, with 19 people including children killed in a strike at a UN clinic being used to house displaced people.
Israel’s military said it had struck a building previously used as a clinic that it said was serving as a Hamas command and control centre to plan attacks, and that the military had used surveillance to mitigate the risk to civilians.
Hamas denied using the building and called the Israeli accusation it did so a “blatant fabrication”.
Reuters video of the aftermath of the strike showed blood on a floor as rescue workers removed bodies on stretchers.
At the site of a strike in Khan Younis, Ms Rida al-Jabbour held up a tiny shoe and pointed at a blood-spattered wall as she related how a neighbour had been killed along with her three-month-old baby.
“From the moment the strike occurred, we have not been able to sit or sleep or anything,” she said, describing how rescue workers were unable to separate the remains of those killed.
Mr Katz’s statement did not make clear how much land Israel intended to seize or whether the move represented a permanent annexation of territory, which would add further pressure on a population in Gaza already living in one of the most crowded areas in the world.
According to Israeli rights group Gisha, Israel has already taken control of some 62 sq km, or around 17 per cent, of the total area of Gaza, as part of a buffer zone around the edges of the enclave.
At the same time, Israeli leaders have said they plan to facilitate the voluntary departure of Palestinians from the enclave, after US President Donald Trump called for it to be permanently evacuated and redeveloped as a coastal resort
Mr Katz’s remarks came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeated calls for Hamas to disarm and said the application of military pressure was the best way to get back the remaining 59 hostages.
Israeli leaders have been encouraged by signs of protest in Gaza against Hamas, the militant group which has controlled the enclave since 2007, and the expanded operation appeared at least partly aimed at increasing civilian pressure on its leaders.
“I call on the residents of Gaza to act now to eliminate Hamas and return all the kidnapped,” Mr Katz said in his statement. “This is the only way to end the war.”
War expands
Israel resumed air strikes on Gaza in March and sent ground troops back in, after two months of relative calm following the conclusion of a US-backed truce to allow the exchange of hostages held by Hamas
Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed since the resumption of the strikes, and Israel has also cut off aid to the enclave, saying much of it was taken by Hamas.
Efforts led by Qatari and Egyptian mediators to get talks aimed at ending the war back on track have so far failed to make progress, and the military’s return to Gaza has fuelled protests in Israel by families and supporters of the hostages.
On April 2, the Hostage Families’ Forum, which represents the families of some of the hostages, said it was “horrified” to wake up to news of the expanded operation.
As the operation in Gaza has escalated, Israel has also hit targets in southern Lebanon and Syria, with a strike on a Hezbollah commander
In addition, Israeli troops are still carrying out a major operation in the occupied West Bank.
Israel invaded Gaza following the devastating attack on southern Israel on Oct 7, 2023, by thousands of Hamas-led gunmen that killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies, and saw 251 taken as hostages.
The Israeli campaign has killed more than 50,000 Palestinians, according to Palestinian health officials, and ravaged the Gaza Strip, forcing almost the entire population of 2.3 million from their homes. REUTERS
