Israel to ‘seize more ground’ and warns Hamas it will annex parts of Gaza

Israel’s defence minister said on Friday he has instructed the military to “seize more ground” in Gaza and threatened to annex part of the territory unless Hamas releases the remaining hostages it holds.

Israel Katz’s warning came as the army stepped up the renewed assault it launched on Tuesday, shattering the truce that had facilitated the release of more than two dozen hostages and brought relative calm since late January.

After retaking part of the strategic Netzarim corridor that divides Gaza’s north from south, Israeli troops moved on Thursday towards the northern town of Beit Lahiya and the southern border city of Rafah. The military said it had resumed enforcing a blockade on northern Gaza, including Gaza City.

“I ordered [the army] to seize more territory in Gaza,” Katz said. “The more Hamas refuses to free the hostages, the more territory it will lose, which will be annexed by Israel.”

Katz also threatened “to expand buffer zones around Gaza to protect Israeli civilian population areas and soldiers by implementing a permanent Israeli occupation of the area,” should Hamas not comply.

He said the army “will intensify the fight with aerial, naval and ground shelling as well as by expanding the ground operation”, which he said would include implementing Donald Trump’s proposal to turn Gaza into a resort after the relocation of its Palestinian inhabitants to other Arab countries.

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