Israeli military will expand its operations and seize 'large areas' of Gaza, defense minister says
Israel’s military “will seize large areas” of Gaza and add them to the country’s security zones, the country’s defense minister said.
Israel’s military “will seize large areas” of the Gaza Strip to expand its security zones, its defense minister said Wednesday as he called for a large-scale evacuation of the Palestinian enclave's population.
“Operation ‘Might and Sword’ in Gaza is expanding,” Israel Katz said in a statement. He went on to call on the residents of Gaza to “eliminate Hamas” to ensure the return of the remaining hostages held by the militant group.
In a statement later Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the shift in strategy set to begin “tonight,” saying the Israel Defense Forces is “seizing territory, striking terrorists, destroying infrastructure.” It would also take over a new border area he referred to as the “Morag Axis,” similar to the Philadelphi corridor, to further isolate the enclave.
The Israeli military has renewed its offensive in Gaza in recent weeks by expanding in the south and adding a large security area in the Netzarim corridor that cuts through the middle of the strip.
Katz’s announcement came after officials at Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis told The Associated Press on Wednesday that 17 people had been killed overnight in Israeli airstrikes.
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