Israel expands military operation in Gaza to seize ‘large areas’ of land, orders evacuation amid ceasefire collapse

The Israeli military’s spokesperson had earlier called the residents to evacuate their homes in Gaza’s southern Rafah area and move towards the northern region.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, at the start of the Government meeting:

“This morning, I am going to going to discuss the three H’s: First of all Hamas, then Hezbollah and then the Houthis.

Full remarks >>https://t.co/wGoEVLHPCD pic.twitter.com/RSToIk6PSa

— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) March 30, 2025

Israel Katz said that the action by Israeli forces is to “crush and clear the area of terrorists and terror infrastructure, while seizing large areas that will be incorporated into Israel’s security zone.”

Katz said that a large-scale operation would be launched to evacuate the population from fighting areas and called on Gazans to eliminate Hamas and return Israeli hostages, adding that it was the only way to end the war.

Palestinian girls dressed for Eid al-Fitr celebrations walk next to destructions in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

However, the statement by Israel’s defence minister did not elaborate whether any extra Israeli troops will be involved in the expanding and evacuating operations.

Israel and Hamas paused their hostilities on January 19 after signing a ceasefire agreement and hostages were returned in the due course of time, while Israel released hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

But on March 18, Israel announced it was restarting its offensive against Gaza due to the militant group not respecting the US -backed truce agreement.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has earlier said that application of military pressure on Gaza based Hamas militant group is the best possible way to bring back the 59 hostages.