Israel’s Defense Minister Announces Major Expansion of Ground Assault on Gaza
Israel’s Defense Minister has declared a significant expansion of the Israeli ground assault on Gaza, pledging to seize large areas of the Palestinian enclave and incorporate them into what he referred to as "security zones."
The announcement on Wednesday coincided with continued Israeli bombardment of Gaza, which has killed at least 21 Palestinians since the early hours of the morning. The United Nations reported that tens of thousands of people were fleeing the southern city of Rafah “under gunfire.”
In a statement, Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israeli troops would move to clear areas "of terrorists and infrastructure, and capture extensive territory that will be added to the State of Israel’s security areas." He called on Palestinians in Gaza to eliminate Hamas and release the remaining Israeli captives held there to end the war. However, Katz did not specify how much land Israel intends to seize.
The Israeli military has already established a significant buffer zone within Gaza, expanding an area that existed around the edges of the enclave before the war and adding a large area in the so-called Netzarim Corridor through the middle of the territory.
This renewed assault comes a month after Israel imposed a total blockade on all goods entering Gaza, aiming to pressure Hamas to renegotiate the ceasefire deal agreed upon in January. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has demanded that Hamas release the 59 Israeli captives remaining in Gaza in exchange for Palestinians held in Israeli jails and humanitarian aid for Gaza, but without committing to ending the war or withdrawing from the enclave.
Hamas, however, has insisted on a return to the previously agreed deal and offered to release all captives at once in exchange for a permanent ceasefire. Israel responded by resuming its bombardment of Gaza, killing more than 1,000 Palestinians since March 18.
‘Fleeing Under Gunfire’
On Monday, the Israeli military ordered all residents of Rafah in southern Gaza to flee, and on Tuesday, it expanded forced displacement notices to Beit Hanoon, Beit Lahiya, and nearby areas in the north of the enclave.
According to The Times of Israel, the military has deployed its 36th Division to Gaza for the expanded offensive, with soldiers entering the Strip early on Wednesday morning.
Dozens of Palestinian families in the Khirbet al-Adas area of Rafah told Al Jazeera they have been trapped by the Israeli onslaught and issued a distress call, appealing for international help to evacuate them to safety.
The UN humanitarian agency (OCHA) stated in a post on X that “tens of thousands of civilians are fleeing Rafah under gunfire.” One elderly man recounted to the agency that Israeli forces shot at him and other civilians as they fled. “Some were injured and screaming, but I couldn’t look back out of fear,” he said.
Another woman described her escape: “I had nothing with me. We left and climbed the sand dunes. We walked on. When I escaped, the [Israeli] tanks burned tents along the road.”
Casualties and Hostage Concerns
Palestinian medics reported that the 21 victims of Wednesday’s assaults included 12 people killed when Israeli forces targeted a building in southern Khan Younis. Two others were killed in nearby Rafah, one in the so-called safe zone of al-Mawasi, and two in the central Nuseirat refugee camp.
Meanwhile, the families of Israeli captives expressed “horror” at the renewed assault. “Has it been decided to sacrifice the hostages for the sake of ‘territorial gains’?” the group said in a statement.
They criticized the government for prioritizing military action over securing the release of hostages through a deal, stating, “Instead of securing the release of the hostages through a deal and ending the war, the Israeli government is sending more soldiers into Gaza to fight in the same areas where battles have already taken place repeatedly. The responsibility for the release of the 59 hostages held by Hamas lies with the Israeli government. Our grave concern is that this mission has been pushed to the bottom of its priorities and has become merely a secondary objective.”
Humanitarian Crisis Deepens
Israel’s assault also comes as all bakeries in Gaza have closed down due to shortages of flour and cooking gas, one month into the Israeli blockade. This includes 25 bakeries run by the World Food Programme.
The Palestinian Civil Defence warned that the continued siege has put Gaza back on the “verge of famine.” The UN has appealed for an end to the siege and a return to the ceasefire.
Stephane Dujarric, a UN spokesman, dismissed Israeli claims that there is enough food in Gaza as “ridiculous.” He stated, “We are at the tail end of our supplies that came in through the humanitarian route… You know, the WFP doesn’t close its bakeries for fun.”
Dujarric emphasized the positive impact of the previous ceasefire: “During the ceasefire, we saw humanitarian aid flood Gaza. We saw markets come back to life. We saw prices going down. We saw hostages released. We saw Palestinian detainees released. We need to go back to that.”
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