Israel’s defense minister announced that the military will soon “expand” its offensive in most parts of Gaza.
Israel Katz also said the IDF had completed the takeover of the “safety zone” in the southern Gaza Strip, separating the cities of Rafa and Khan Yunis.
Israeli troops also issued evacuation orders against Khan Yunis and its surrounding areas, saying it was preparing for a strike in response to Hamas’ claimed launch of projectiles in Gaza.
Israel attacked Hamas on March 18 after a two-month ceasefire went bankrupt.
Since then, it has occupied a large number of Gaza and has been displaced again.
The military has seized the land across the Palestinian territorial border, which has been described as a buffer zone to prevent attacks.
Israeli officials said the ongoing offensive target was to put pressure on Hamas to release the remaining 59 people in Gaza – 24 of whom are believed to be alive.
Katz said Saturday that the IDF had completed the acquisition of the “Moragh Axle”, a reference to the former Jewish settlement between Rafa and Khan Yunis.
“The IDF has now completed the acquisition of the Morag shaft in Gaza between Rafa and Khan Yunis and placed the entire area of bearings between part of the Israeli security zone,” he said.
Taking over the corridor effectively took the southern city of Rafa from Khan Younis’s hands. Rafah accounts for one fifth of Gaza.
Kaz also warned that “IDF activities will soon be vigorously expanded to other locations in most parts of Gaza”, and people in these areas will have to evacuate the combat zones”.
“This is the last moment to eliminate Hamas and release the hostages and end the war,” he said.
He added that the area of Netzarim Corridor, including the city of Beit Hanoun and the Netzarim corridor, was also evacuated to evacuate the “safety zone” there.
“In northern Gaza – in Beit Hanoun and other communities – residents are evacuating, the area is taking over, and the security zone is expanding, including in the Netzarim Corridor,” Katz said.
In comment, the IDF told the BBC that it was referring to Israel’s Ministry of Defense.
Hamas said – In the quote quoted by AFP News, the offense is not only “killing defenseless civilians”, but also making the fate of the hostages “uncertain”.
The UN Human Rights Office warned last month that the evacuation order did not comply with the requirements of international law, accusing Israel of taking no steps to provide accommodation for people affected or ensure satisfactory hygiene, health, safety and nutritional conditions.
The Israeli government said it was evacuating civilians to protect them from harm and was used by Hamas as a “human shield” that violates international law.
Following the announcement by Kaz, the Israeli military issued an evacuation order for residents of the southern city of Khan Yunis and its surrounding areas, saying it was preparing to respond to the projectiles initiated from Gaza earlier Saturday.
The IDF said its air defense intercepted three projectiles launched from Gaza into Israeli territory – Hamas’ military forces subsequently claimed responsibility for the attack. No injuries.
In Gaza, Hamas-operated health ministry said that as of 13:00 local time (BST 11:00), 21 people have been killed and 64 injured in the past 24 hours.
The Israeli military launched a campaign to destroy Hamas in response to the unprecedented cross-border attack on October 7, 2023, with about 1,200 people killed and another 251 were taken hostage.
According to data from the Hamas-Operation Ministry of Operations, 50,933 people have been killed in Gaza since then.
The ministry said 1,563 of them had been attacking the Gaza Strip since March 18.
