Israeli defense minister orders military to occupy more areas in Gaza

The Israeli public broadcaster KAN reported Katz ordered further occupation of Palestinian areas in Gaza under the pretext of protecting Israeli soldiers and communities near the blockaded Strip.

“The more Hamas insists on refusing to release the hostages, the more land it will lose, which will be annexed to Israel,” KAN quoted Katz as saying.

He added that the Israeli military operation in Gaza “will escalate until all hostages held by Hamas are freed.”

For the past 16 months, the Hamas group has been engaged in talks with Israel mediated by Qatar, Egypt, and the US. However, these negotiations have yet to result in the release of all Israeli captives or the end of the ongoing war, largely due to Israel’s repeated violations of agreements and Netanyahu’s refusal to honor previous commitments.

More than 700 Palestinians have been killed and over 900 injured in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza since Tuesday, shattering a ceasefire deal that had held since January.

Nearly 50,000 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and over 112,000 injured in Israel’s military onslaught on Gaza since October 2023.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.