Israel to seize parts of Gaza as military operation expands

By James Mackenzie

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel announced a major expansion of military operations in Gaza on Wednesday, saying large areas of the enclave would be seized and added to its security zones, accompanied by large-scale evacuations of the population.

In a statement, Defence Minister Israel Katz said evacuations would take place from areas where there was fighting, while urging Gazans to eliminate Hamas and return Israeli hostages as the only way to end the war.

He said the operation would clear out militants and infrastructure "and seize large areas that will be added to the security zones of the State of Israel".

The Israeli military had already issued evacuation warnings to Gazans living around the southern city of Rafah and towards the city of Khan Younis, telling them to move to the Al-Mawasi area on the shore, previously designated a humanitarian zone.

Israel's Army Radio said the 36th division, sent to the Southern Command area last month to prepare for operations in Gaza, would take part in the operation, which came after a wave of strikes was reported overnight.

The Palestinian civil defence agency said at least 12 bodies had been recovered by its teams in Khan Younis and Palestinian radio reported that the area around Rafah was almost completely empty following the evacuation orders.

Katz's statement did not make clear how much land Israel intends to seize or whether the move represented a permanent annexation of territory, which would add further pressure on a population in Gaza already living in one of the most crowded areas in the world.

According to the Israeli rights group Gisha, Israel has already taken control of some 62 square kilometres or around 17% of the total area of Gaza, as part of a buffer zone around the edges of the enclave.

Seizing the buffer zone, which contains infrastructure including wells, sewage pumping stations, and wastewater treatment facilities as well as a significant part of Gaza's agricultural land, would also increase pressure on the enclave's ability to sustain itself.

At the same time, Israeli leaders have said they plan to facilitate voluntary departure of Palestinians from the enclave, after U.S. President Donald Trump called for it to be permanently evacuated and redeveloped as a coastal resort under U.S. control.

Katz's remarks came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeated calls for Hamas to disarm and said the application of military pressure was the best way to get back the remaining 59 hostages.

Israeli leaders have been encouraged by signs of protest in Gaza against Hamas, the militant group which has controlled the enclave since 2007, and the expanded operation appeared at least partly aimed at increasing civilian pressure on its leaders.

"I call on the residents of Gaza to act now to eliminate Hamas and return all the kidnapped," Katz said in his statement, which added that the operation would clear the area of militants and their infrastructure.

"This is the only way to end the war," Katz said.

WAR EXPANDS

Israel resumed air strikes on Gaza last month and sent ground troops back in, after two months of relative calm following the conclusion of a U.S.-backed truce to allow the exchange of hostages held by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed since the resumption of the strikes and Israel has also cut off aid to the enclave, saying much of the material going in was taken by Hamas and used for its own members.

Efforts led by Qatari and Egyptian mediators to get talks aimed at ending the war back on track have so far failed to make progress and the military's return to Gaza has fuelled protests in Israel by families and supporters of the hostages.

On Wednesday, the Hostage Families' Forum, which represents the families of some of the hostages, said it was "horrified" to wake up to news of the expanded operation and said Israel's priority had to be the return of its hostages.

As the operation in Gaza has escalated, Israel has also hit targets in southern Lebanon and Syria, with a strike on a Hezbollah commander in the southern suburbs of Beirut on Tuesday that further strained fraying ceasefire agreements which largely halted fighting in January.

In addition, Israeli troops are still carrying out a major operation in the occupied West Bank, which the military says is aimed at destroying Iranian-backed militant groups in the area's refugee camps.

Israel invaded Gaza following the devastating attack on communities in southern Israel by thousands of Hamas-led gunmen that killed 1,200 people according to Israeli tallies, and saw 251 taken as hostages into Gaza.

The Israeli campaign has killed more than 50,000 Palestinians, according to Palestinian health officials, and ravaged the Gaza Strip forcing almost the entire population of 2.3 million from their homes, leaving hundreds of thousands in tents and improvised shelters.

(Additional reporting by Maayan Lubell and Ali Sawafta in Ramallah; Editing by Himani Sarkar, Clarence Fernandez, Alex Richardson and Aidan Lewis)