Israel has announced plans to broaden its military operations throughout the majority of Gaza

Israel says it will expand its offensive across most of Gaza

Israel's Defense Minister has declared that the military will soon intensify its offensive operations across most of Gaza.

Israel Katz also announced that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have successfully established control over a "security zone" in the southern Gaza Strip, which separates the cities of Rafah and Khan Younis.

Additionally, the military has issued evacuation orders for Khan Younis and its neighboring regions, indicating preparations for strikes in retaliation for projectile launches from Gaza, for which Hamas has claimed responsibility.

The offensive against Hamas was resumed on March 18, following the end of a two-month ceasefire. Since that time, Israel has captured significant portions of Gaza, resulting in the displacement of hundreds of thousands of residents.

The military has taken control of land along the entire border of the Palestinian territory, designating it as a buffer zone to mitigate potential attacks.

Israeli officials have stated that the current offensive is intended to exert pressure on Hamas to release the 59 hostages still held in Gaza, 24 of whom are believed to be alive.

On Saturday, Katz confirmed that the IDF had completed the takeover of the "Morag axis," referring to a former Jewish settlement situated between Rafah and Khan Younis.

He noted that this development integrates the entire area between the Philadelphia axis and Morag into the Israeli security zone.

The control of this corridor effectively isolates the southern city of Rafah from Khan Younis, with Rafah accounting for nearly one-fifth of Gaza's total area.

Katz also warned that "IDF activity will soon expand vigorously to additional locations throughout most of Gaza" and people in these areas "will have to evacuate the fighting zones".

"This is the last moment to remove Hamas and release the hostages, and bring about an end to the war," he said.

He added that areas of northern Gaza, including the city of Beit Hanoun and in the Netzarim Corridor - which cuts through central Gaza - were also being evacuated so that a "security zone" could be expanded there too.

"In northern Gaza as well - in Beit Hanoun and other neighbourhoods - residents are evacuating, the area is being taken over and the security zone is being expanded, including in the Netzarim corridor," Katz said.

When approached for comment, the IDF referred the BBC to the defence ministry's remarks.

Hamas said, in quotes cited by the news agency AFP, that the offensive not only "kills defenceless civilians" but also makes the fate of hostages "uncertain".

The UN's human rights office warned last month that the evacuation orders failed to comply with international law, accusing Israel of not taking any measures to provide accommodation for those affected, or ensuring satisfactory hygiene, health, safety and nutrition conditions.

Israel's government said it was evacuating civilians to protect them from harm and from being used by Hamas as "human shields" in violation of international law.

Following Katz's announcement, the Israeli military issued an evacuation order for residents of the southern city of Khan Younis and its surrounding areas, saying it was preparing to respond to projectiles launched from Gaza earlier on Saturday.

The IDF said its air defences had intercepted three projectiles launched from Gaza towards Israeli territory. Hamas's military wing later claimed responsibility for the attack. No injuries were reported.

In Gaza, the Hamas-run health ministry said as of 13:00 local time (11:00 BST) on Saturday, 21 people had been killed in the previous 24 hours, and a further 64 injured.

The Israeli military launched a campaign to destroy Hamas in response to an unprecedented cross-border attack on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

More than 50,933 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.

Of those, 1,563 have been killed since 18 March, when Israel restarted its offensive in the Gaza Strip, the ministry said.

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