Israel to Expand Military Operation and Seize ‘Large Areas’ of Gaza Strip

Israel’s renewed offensive against Hamas features strategy of holding new territory to deny it to the terrorist group.

People fleeing Rafah arrive in Khan Yunis city following new Israeli evacuation orders, in the southern Gaza Strip on March 31, 2025. Eyad Baba/AFP via Getty Images

The Israeli military operation is expanding to seize “large areas” of the Gaza Strip, Defense Minister Israel Katz said on April 2.

Katz said in a written statement that the offensive was “expanding to crush and clean the area of terrorists and terrorist infrastructure and capture large areas that will be added to the security zones of the state of Israel.”