Israel said Saturday it planned to expand its military offensive in Gaza after seizing a new corridor as part of a broader effort to take large parts of the war-battered Palestinian territory.
It also told tens of thousands of residents of Khan Yunis and surrounding areas in southern Gaza to evacuate and launched strikes after projectiles were fired from there.
"Soon, IDF operations will intensify and expand to other areas throughout most of Gaza, and you will need to evacuate the combat zones," Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement addressing Gazans.
"The IDF (military) has now completed its takeover of the Morag axis, which crosses Gaza between Rafah and Khan Yunis, turning the entire area between the Philadelphi Route (along the border with Egypt) and Morag into part of the Israeli security zone," Katz said.
"Now is the time to rise up, remove Hamas, and release all the Israeli hostages—this is the only way to end the war."
Katz said the military was also taking over several areas in northern Gaza, and the "security zone is being expanded, including in the Netzarim Corridor".
His announcement came as a Hamas official told AFP the group expected "real progress" towards a ceasefire deal to end the war, ahead of talks with Egyptian mediators in Cairo.
Hostage video
Since a ceasefire collapsed in mid-March, Israel's renewed offensive has displaced hundreds of thousands of people.
Israeli officials say the ongoing assault aims to pressure Hamas into freeing its remaining 58 hostages.
Hamas said the offensive not only "kills defenceless civilians but also makes the fate of the occupation's prisoners (hostages) uncertain".
On Saturday, Hamas released a video showing Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander criticizing Israel's government for failing to secure his release.
The soldier was abducted by Palestinian militants during their October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
In Tel Aviv, hundreds of Israelis gathered to mark the Passover festival and called for the release of hostages.
"Passover has so many meanings, but I think freedom is the most important one, and that's one thing we are missing for the second year already," said protester Oren Baron.
"So, we are not really celebrating until we are free, until our hostages are free, and until we as a nation are free."
Israel ordered Saturday's Khan Yunis evacuation after it intercepted four projectiles fired from Gaza—three from the territory's south.
"IDF troops are operating with significant force in the area and will strike with intensity on any location from which rockets are launched," the military posted on X.
The United Nations warned Friday that expanding evacuation orders were resulting in the "forcible transfer" of people into ever-shrinking areas, raising "real concern as to the future viability of Palestinians as a group in Gaza".
Ahead of a meeting between Hamas and Egyptian and Qatari mediators later Saturday, a Hamas official familiar with the ceasefire negotiations said the group hoped the meeting "will achieve real progress towards reaching an agreement to end the war".
Speaking on condition of anonymity, he said Hamas has not yet received any new ceasefire proposals, despite Israeli media reports suggesting Israel and Egypt had exchanged draft documents outlining a potential ceasefire and hostage release agreement.
Hamas later confirmed its delegation had departed for Cairo.
"We in the Hamas movement affirm our positive engagement with any proposals that ensure a permanent ceasefire, the complete withdrawal of occupation forces, an end to the suffering of our Palestinian people, and the achievement of a serious prisoner exchange deal," it said.
Strikes continue
The Times of Israel reported that Egypt's proposal would involve the release of eight living hostages and eight bodies in exchange for a truce lasting between 40 and 70 days and a substantial release of Palestinian prisoners.
Since Israel resumed its Gaza strikes, more than 1,500 people have been killed, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory to which Israel cut off aid more than a month ago.
The UN said that in dozens of these strikes "only women and children" were killed.
The Gaza war broke out after Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
Gaza's health ministry said Saturday at least 1,563 Palestinians had been killed since March 18, when the ceasefire collapsed, taking the overall death toll since the war began to 50,933.
With AFP
Comments