Israel expands ground assault on Gaza, seeks to seize ‘extensive territory’
Palestinians inspect a UN building after it was hit by an Israeli strike in Jabaliya, northern Gaza , 2 April 2025
Al Jazeera reports on 2 April 2025:
Israel’s defence minister has announced a major expansion of the Israeli ground assault on Gaza, promising to seize large areas of the Palestinian enclave and incorporate them into so-called “security” zones.
The announcement on Wednesday came as Israel’s military killed more than 50 Palestinians in attacks across Gaza, including one that targeted a UN clinic. Israel also continued a total blockade of the Strip for a 31st day, forcing all bakeries there to shut down.
In a statement, Defence Minister Israel Katz said Israeli troops would move to clear areas “of terrorists and infrastructure, and capture extensive territory that will be added to the State of Israel’s security areas”. He also called on Palestinians in Gaza to eliminate Hamas and free the remaining Israeli captives held in the territory, to end the war. Katz, however, did not make clear how much land Israel intends to seize.
The Israeli military has already set up a significant buffer zone within Gaza, expanding an area that existed around the edges of the enclave before the war, and adding a large area in the so-called Netzarim Corridor through the middle of the territory.
Its renewed assault comes as part of a “maximum pressure” campaign aimed at forcing Hamas to renegotiate the ceasefire deal agreed upon in January. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants Hamas to release the 59 Israeli captives remaining in Gaza in exchange for Palestinians held in Israeli jails as well as humanitarian aid for Gaza, but without committing to ending the war and withdrawing troops from the enclave.
Hamas, however, has insisted on a return to the previously agreed deal and has offered to free all the captives at once in return for a permanent ceasefire. Israel responded by resuming its bombardment of Gaza and has killed more than 1,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, since March 18.
Gideon Levy, a columnist at the Israeli news outlet Haaretz, said he sees no end in sight to the bloodshed. “Hamas will not give up because they have nothing to lose. And Israel cannot be stopped,” Levy told Al Jazeera. “We are in a situation of desperation. A war continues without any goal. The bludgeon continues without any purpose.”