Israeli military operation in Gaza expanding to seize ‘large areas’: ‘Expanding to crush and clean the area’

Israel’s military offensive in the Gaza Strip is expanding to “crush” the area of Hamas terrorists and seize “large areas,” Defense Minister Israel Katz said Wednesday.

Katz said in a statement that the military operation was “expanding to crush and clean the area of terrorists and terrorist infrastructure and seizing large areas that will be added to the security zones of the State of Israel.”

Israel’s security perimeter, which runs along the border with Israel in northern and eastern Gaza, has been used for decades as a way to protect its citizens residing near the territory.

It is unclear which areas of Gaza will be seized in the expanded operation, which Katz says includes the “extensive evacuation” of people from areas where fighting is happening.

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The minister called on Gaza’s population to “expel Hamas and return all hostages.” The terror group still has 59 hostages, including 24 who are believed to still be alive. Most of the other captives were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.

“This is the only way to end the war,” Katz said.

The Hostage Families Forum, which represents most of the hostages’ families, said it was “horrified to wake up this morning to the Defense Minister’s announcement about expanding military operations in Gaza.”

The Israeli government “has an obligation to free all 59 hostages from Hamas captivity — to pursue every possible channel to advance a deal for their release,” the group said, emphasizing that every passing day puts the captives’ lives at increased risk.

“Their lives hang in the balance as more and more disturbing details continue to emerge about the horrific conditions they’re being held in — chained, abused, and in desperate need of medical attention,” the group said.

“Our highest priority must be an immediate deal to bring ALL hostages back home — the living for rehabilitation and those killed for proper burial — and end this war,” it added.

The forum also called on the Trump administration and other mediators to “continue exerting pressure on Hamas for the immediate release of our loved ones.”

“Our highest priority must be an immediate deal to bring ALL hostages back home—the living for rehabilitation and those killed for proper burial—and end this war,” the group said.

Israel continued to attack the Gaza Strip, including with overnight airstrikes that killed 17 people in the southern city of Khan Younis, according to hospital officials.

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Officials at the Nasser Hospital said the bodies of 12 people killed in an overnight airstrike were brought to the hospital, including five women — one of whom was pregnant — and two children. Officials at the Gaza European Hospital said five bodies of people killed in two separate airstrikes were taken to the hospital.

The war began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas launched a surprise attack against Israel, killing around 1,200 people and abducting 251 others.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 50,000 Palestinians, including hundreds killed in airstrikes since a ceasefire ended about two weeks ago, according to the Hamas-run government’s Gaza Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and terrorists. Israel claims, without offering evidence, that it has killed roughly 20,000 terrorists in the war.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.