Israel’s military's operation in the Gaza Strip expanding to capture 'large areas' - defense minister

Displaced Palestinians carry water in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip on Monday, March 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi, File)

Israel’s military's operation in the Gaza Strip expanding to capture 'large areas' - defense minister 

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s military operation in the Gaza Strip is expanding to seize “large areas” of the Gaza Strip, the defense minister said Wednesday.

Israel’s offensive in the Palestinian territory 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," Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a written statement.

Israel's security perimeter, which runs along the border with Israel in northern and eastern Gaza, has been a crucial part of the country's defense for decades, used as a way to protect its citizens living near the territory.

Katz didn't specify which areas of Gaza would be seized in the expanded operation, which includes the “extensive evacuation” of the population from fighting areas.

The minister called on Gaza residents to “expel Hamas and return all hostages.” The militant group still holds 59 captives, of whom 24 are believed to still be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.

“This is the only way to end the war,” Katz said.

The Hostage Families Forum, which represents most captives’ families, said that it was “horrified to wake up this morning to the Defense Minister's announcement about expanding military operations in Gaza.”

The group said the Israeli government “has an obligation to free all 59 hostages from Hamas captivity — to pursue every possible channel to advance a deal for their release,” and stressed that every passing day puts their loved ones' lives at greater risk.

“Their lives hang in the balance as more and more disturbing details continue to emerge about the horrific conditions they’re being held in — chained, abused, and in desperate need of medical attention,” said the forum, which called on the Trump administration and other mediators to continue pressuring Hamas to release the hostages.

“Our highest priority must be an immediate deal to bring ALL hostages back home — the living for rehabilitation and those killed for proper burial — and end this war,” the group said.

Israel’s evacuation orders now cover large swaths of the Gaza Strip, including many areas of Gaza City and towns in the north, parts of the southern city of Khan Younis, and almost the entire southern city of Rafah and its surroundings.

As of March 23, more than 140,000 people had been displaced again since the end of the ceasefire, according to the latest U.N. estimate — and tens of thousands more are estimated to have fled under evacuation orders over the past week.

Gaza's bakeries shut down

The U.N. food agency is closing all of its bakeries in the Gaza Strip, officials said Tuesday, as supplies dwindle after Israel sealed off the territory from all imports nearly a month ago.

Israel, which later resumed its offensive to pressure the Hamas militant group into accepting changes to their ceasefire agreement, said enough food had entered Gaza during the six-week truce to sustain the territory's roughly 2 million Palestinians for a long time.

U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said Israel’s assertion was “ridiculous,” calling the food shortage very critical. The organization is “at the tail end of our supplies” and a lack of flour and cooking oil are forcing the bakeries to close, Dujarric said Tuesday.

Markets largely emptied weeks ago. U.N. agencies say the supplies they built up during the truce are running out. Gaza is heavily reliant on international aid because the war has destroyed almost all of its food production capability.