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Israel’s defence minister Israel Katz announced a major expansion of the military operation in Gaza on Wednesday, saying large areas of the enclave would be seized and added to the security zones of Israel.
In a statement, Katz said there would be large-scale evacuation of the population from areas where there is fighting, and told Gazans that eliminating Hamas and returning Israeli hostages was the only way to end the war.
He did not make clear how much land Israel intended to seize, however.
Israel has already set up a significant buffer zone within Gaza, expanding an area that existed around the edges of the enclave before the war and adding a large security area in the so-called Netzarim corridor through the middle of Gaza.
At the same time, Israeli leaders have said they plan to facilitate the voluntary departure of Palestinians from the enclave, after United States President Donald Trump called for it to be permanently evacuated and redeveloped as a coastal resort under US control.
Israel resumed air strikes on Gaza and sent ground troops back in last month, after two months of relative calm following the conclusion of a US-backed truce to allow the exchange of hostages held by Hamas for Palestinians in Israeli jails.
Efforts led by Qatari and Egyptian mediators to get talks aimed at ending the war back on track have failed to make progress yet.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the application of military pressure is the best way to get the remaining 59 hostages back.
This is a developing story and this article will be updated.
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