Israel claims to extend its offensive to most of the gas

Israeli Defense Minister has announced that their military quickly expanded their offensive over much of the gas.

Israel Katz also said the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) completed the “security zone” in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, separating the cities of Rafa and Khan Unis.

Israeli military personnel also issued orders for evacuation for Khan UNIS and its surrounding areas, saying that he was preparing for strikes in response to the launch of shells from Gaza, for which Hamas took responsibility.

On March 18, Israel resumed the following against Hamas after the collapse of a two -month ceasefire.

Since then, it has confiscated large territories of gas, displacing hundreds of thousands of gas.

The military has already confiscated the land that operates across the border of the Palestinian territory, which it characterized as a buffer zone to prevent attacks.

Israeli officials have said that the permanent offensive goal is aimed at Hamas pressure to release 59 other hostages conducted in Gaza – 24 of which are allegedly alive.

On Saturday, Katz said IDF completed the absorption of the “axis of the sea” – a reference to a former Jewish settlement located between Rafa and Khan UNIS.

He said it “makes the whole area between the Philadelphia axis and the dream part of Israeli security.”

The sunset of the corridor is effectively cutting off the southern city of Rafa from Khan Unis. Rafa is almost a fifth of the gas.

Katz also warned that “IDF activity will soon expand to additional places in most of the gas”, and people in these areas “will have to evacuate combat areas”.

“This is the last moment to remove Hamas and release the hostages and stop the war,” he said.

He added that the districts of the Northern Gaza, including the city of Bate -Khan and in the hall, were not evacuated through the central gas, which was also evacuated so that the “security zone” can also be expanded.

“In Northern Gaza, too – in Beyt -Khanun and other neighborhoods – residents evacuate, the area is transferred, and the security zone is expanding, including in the corridor,” Katz said.

When he addressed the comments, IDF sent the BBC to the Ministry of Defense.

In the quotes quoted by AFP, Hamas said that the offensive not only “kills defenseless civilians”, but also makes the hostage fate.

Last month, the UN Human Rights warned that evacuation orders did not comply with international law, accusing Israel of taking no residence measures for those who have suffered, or providing satisfactory hygiene, health, safety and nutrition conditions.

The Israeli government said it evacuated civilians to protect them from harm and from the use of Hamas as “human shields” in violation of international law.

After the proclamation of Kats Israeli, the military issued an order for evacuation for the residents of the southern city of Khan Unis and its surrounding areas, saying that it was preparing to respond to the shells launched from Gaza earlier on Saturday.

IDF said its air defense had intercepted three shells launched from Gaza to Israeli territory. Later, Hamas’s military wing claimed responsibility for the attack. The injuries were not reported.

The Ministry of Health Hamas said that on Saturday at 13:00 local time (11:00 BST) 21 people died in the previous 24 hours and 64 were injured.

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

Since then, more than 50 933 people have been killed in Gaza, the Ministry of Health reports.

Of these, 1563 have been killed since March 18, when Israel restarted its offensive in the gas strip, the ministry said.