Illustrative: Israeli soldiers operate in the Gaza Strip amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in this handout picture released on March 5, 2024. Photo: Israel Defense Forces/Handout via REUTERS

Israel announced a major expansion of military operations in Gaza on Wednesday, saying large areas of the enclave would be seized and added to its security zones, accompanied by large-scale evacuations of the population.

In a statement, Defense Minister Israel Katz said evacuations would take place from areas where there was fighting, while urging Gazans to eliminate Hamas and return Israeli hostages as the only way to end the war.

He said the operation would clear out terrorists and infrastructure “and seize large areas that will be added to the security zones of the State of Israel.”

The Israeli military had already issued evacuation warnings to Gazans living in some southern districts and Palestinian radio reported that the area around Rafah was almost completely empty following the evacuation orders.

Katz’s statement did not make clear how much land Israel intended to seize or whether the move represented a permanent annexation of territory.

According to the Israeli rights group Gisha, Israel has already taken control of some 62 square kilometers or around 17 percent of the total area of Gaza, as part of a buffer zone around the edges of the enclave.

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 an economic hub under US control.

Katz’s remarks came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeated calls for Hamas to disarm and said the application of military pressure was the best way to get back the remaining 59 hostages.

Israeli leaders have been encouraged by signs of protest in Gaza against Hamas, the terrorist group which has controlled the enclave since 2007, and the expanded operation appeared at least partly aimed at increasing civilian pressure on its leaders.

“I call on the residents of Gaza to act now to eliminate Hamas and return all the kidnapped,” Katz said in his statement. “This is the only way to end the war.”

WAR EXPANDS

Israel resumed airstrikes on Gaza last month and sent ground troops back in, after two months of relative calm following the conclusion of a US-backed truce to allow the exchange of hostages held by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed since the resumption of the strikes and Israel has also cut off aid to the enclave, saying much of it was taken by Hamas.

Efforts led by Qatari and Egyptian mediators to get talks aimed at ending the war back on track have so far failed to make progress and the military‘s return to Gaza has fueled protests in Israel by families and supporters of some of the hostages.

As the operation in Gaza has escalated, Israel has also hit targets in southern Lebanon and Syria, with a strike on a Hezbollah commander in the southern suburbs of Beirut on Tuesday.

Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists started the war on Oct. 7, 2023, when they invaded southern Israel, killed 1,200 people, and abducted 215 hostages.

Israel responded with a military campaign aimed at freeing the hostages and dismantling Hamas’s ability to rule Gaza and threaten the Jewish state.