Israel Expands Military Offensive in Gaza, Seeks Control of 'Large Areas'

Israel's renewed military offensive in the Gaza Strip is "expanding to crush and clean the area" of militants and to seize "large areas that will be added to the security zones of the State of Israel," Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a written statement on Wednesday.

Israeli Government's Long-Maintained Buffer Zone

The Israeli government has long maintained a buffer zone just inside Gaza along its security fence, which has greatly expanded since the war with Hamas was sparked by the groups Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attack. Israel says the buffer zone is needed for its security, but Palestinians view it as a land grab that further shrinks the narrow coastal territory, home to around 2 million people.

Expansion of Military Operations in Gaza

Katz didn't specify which areas of Gaza would be seized in the expanded operation, which he said includes the "extensive evacuation" of the population from fighting areas. His statement came after the Israeli military ordered all civilians to evacuate the southern city of Rafah and nearby areas — an order that came about two weeks after Israel abandoned a ceasefire that brokered by the U.S., Qatar and Egypt and resumed its bombardment of the Palestinian territory.

Israel's Aim in Gaza Strip

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel aims to maintain an open-ended but unspecified security control of the Gaza Strip once it achieves its aims of crushing Hamas.

Katz called on Gaza residents to "expel Hamas and return all hostages." Hamas, long a U.S.- and Israeli-designated terrorist organization, still holds 59 captives, of whom 24 are believed to still be alive, after most of the rest 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 captives' families and has long pushed for an agreement to end the war and bring their loved ones home, disagreed with that assessment, however.

Displacement and Death in Gaza

The war was sparked by the Hamas-led terrorist attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and saw 251 others taken as hostages back into Gaza. Israel's retaliatory war in Gaza has killed more than 50,400 Palestinians, including at least 1,066 killed since the ceasefire fell apart on March 18, according to Gaza's Hamas-run Health Ministry, which doesn't differentiate between civilian and combatant casualties.