Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz issued a warning that parts of Gaza could be annexed unless Hamas militants release the remaining Israeli hostages being held in the war-torn Palestinian territory.
This threat emerged as Israel intensified its assault, which it had renewed on Tuesday, disrupting the relative calm that followed a ceasefire on January 19.
A source close to the ceasefire talks disclosed to journalists that Hamas had received a proposal from mediators Egypt and Qatar aimed at restoring a truce and facilitating an exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners “according to an agreed timeline”.
The same source indicated that the proposal “includes the entry of humanitarian aid” into Gaza, which has been restricted by Israel since March 2.
Israel’s revival of extensive military operations has garnered considerable condemnation.
The civil defense agency in Gaza reported that Israeli airstrikes resulted in 11 fatalities—three during pre-dawn strikes and eight more throughout the day.
On Thursday, the agency updated the death toll to 504 since the bombardment recommenced, marking one of the highest counts since the conflict erupted over 17 months ago with Hamas’ assault on Israel.
In his statement, Mr. Katz remarked: “I instructed (the army) to annex more territory in Gaza … The more Hamas declines to release the hostages, the more territory it stands to lose, which will be claimed by Israel”.
If Hamas continues to resist, Mr. Katz further warned of “expanding buffer zones around Gaza to safeguard Israeli civilian areas and military personnel by establishing a permanent Israeli presence in the region”.
The military advised residents in the Al-Salatin, Al-Karama, and Al-Awda neighborhoods of southern Gaza to evacuate their homes in anticipation of impending strikes.
Images emerging from northern Gaza depicted donkey carts loaded with possessions as families fled their homes along debris-laden roads.
‘Pressure points’
Israeli forces reported that they had eliminated the head of Hamas’s military intelligence in southern Gaza during a recent strike, adding to the roster of key figures targeted in recent days.
The resurgence of large-scale military operations in coordination with US President Donald Trump’s administration faced widespread outrage.
The foreign ministers of Germany, France, and Britain issued a joint statement urging an immediate return to a ceasefire in Gaza, describing the recent strikes as “a dramatic step backward”.
Turkey’s foreign ministry condemned what it labeled a “deliberate” attack by Israel on a Turkish-built hospital in Gaza.
In response to the Turkish accusations, a military spokesperson stated, “The IDF (military) targeted terrorists at a Hamas site that had previously functioned as a hospital in central Gaza.”
Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz confirmed that military operations would escalate.
The health ministry in Gaza, governed by Hamas, condemned “the heinous crime committed by the occupation (Israel) by bombing the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital”, labeling it “the sole facility designated for cancer treatment in the Gaza Strip”.
The ministry accused Israeli forces of converting the hospital into “a base for its operations during the entirety of its occupation of the so-called Netzarim axis”.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog expressed concern over the government’s actions in a video statement on Thursday, stating that it was “unthinkable to resume fighting while still pursuing the sacred mission of securing the return of our hostages”.
In recent days, thousands of protesters have gathered in Jerusalem, criticizing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for resuming military operations without considering the safety of the hostages.
Of the 251 hostages taken during Hamas’s assault on October 7, 2023, 58 remain held by militants in Gaza, including 34 whom the Israeli military claims are deceased.
Projectiles from Gaza, Yemen
Israel’s military announced that it had intercepted a missile launched from Yemen following air raid sirens in Jerusalem and parts of central Israel.
This marks the fourth missile launched from Yemen toward Israel since Tuesday, after Houthi rebels threatened to escalate their attacks in support of Palestinians in light of Israel’s renewed offensives in Gaza.
In a statement, the Iran-aligned group claimed to have “targeted Ben Gurion airport” near Tel Aviv with a ballistic missile.
The Houthi group emphasized that Israeli airspace would remain unsafe “until the aggression against Gaza ceases”.
Read more about the conflict in the Middle East
Earlier, the Israeli military stated it had intercepted two projectiles fired from northern Gaza, which Hamas’s armed wing claimed was in retaliation for “massacres against civilians”.
Mr. Katz declared that Israel would “intensify the fight with aerial, naval, and ground assaults as well as by expanding ground operations until hostages are released and Hamas is vanquished, employing all military and civilian pressure points”.
He added that this approach includes advancing Mr. Trump’s proposal for the United States to redevelop Gaza as a Mediterranean resort after relocating its Palestinian inhabitants to other Arab countries.
