Israel to expand Gaza military offensive with large-scale forced displacement

Israel today announced a major expansion of its military offensive in Gaza, saying large areas of the enclave would be seized and added to its “security zones”, accompanied by large-scale forced displacement of the Palestinian population, Reuters reported.

In a statement, Defence Minister Israel Katz said Palestinians would be ordered out of areas where there was fighting, while urging Gazans to eliminate Hamas and return Israeli captives as the only way to end the war.

The Israeli occupation army had already issued evacuation warnings to Gazans living around the southern city of Rafah and towards the city of Khan Yunis, telling them to move to the Al-Mawasi area on the shore, previously designated a humanitarian zone, but which Israeli war planes have repeatedly targeted with bombs.

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.

Katz’s statement did not make clear how much land Israel intended to seize.

Israeli forces have already set up a significant buffer zone within Gaza, expanding an area that existed around the edges of the enclave before the genocidal war and adding a large security area in the so-called Netzarim corridor through the middle of Gaza.

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

The Hostage Families’ Forum, which represents the families of those being held in Gaza, said families were “horrified to wake up this morning” to the defence minister’s announcement and said Israel was obligated to free all the captives and “to pursue every possible channel to advance a deal for their release”.

The Israeli campaign has killed more than 50,300 Palestinians, injured over 110,000 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.

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