Israel's military operation in Gaza has expanded to seize "large areas," according to the defence minister, while hospital officials in the Palestinian territory report that Israeli strikes overnight and into Wednesday have killed over 40 people, including nearly a dozen children.
Israel’s offensive in Gaza is "expanding to crush and clean the area" of militants while "seizing large areas that will be added to the security zones of the State of Israel," Defence Minister Israel Katz stated in a written announcement.
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Israel has long maintained a buffer zone inside Gaza along its security fence, which has significantly expanded since the war began in 2023. While Israel argues that the buffer zone is essential for security, Palestinians see it as a land grab further reducing the already narrow coastal enclave, home to around 2 million people.
Katz did not specify which areas of Gaza would be seized in this expanded operation, which he said involves the “extensive evacuation” of residents from combat zones. His remarks followed Israel’s order for a full evacuation of the southern city of Rafah and surrounding areas.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that Israel intends to maintain indefinite but unspecified security control over Gaza once Hamas is defeated.
The minister urged Gaza’s residents to "expel Hamas and return all hostages." The militant group still holds 59 captives, 24 of whom are believed to be alive, after most others were freed through ceasefire agreements or other negotiations.
“This is the only way to end the war,” Katz declared.
Since the collapse of the ceasefire last month, Israel’s expanding areas of operation and evacuation orders have resulted in “no-go” zones covering more than 60% of Gaza, according to Olga Cherevko, spokesperson for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Aid organisations are offering assistance where possible, though supplies are dwindling due to Israel’s monthlong blockade. These "no-go" zones include the military zone in the Netzarim corridor—an Israeli-controlled strip dividing northern and southern Gaza—as well as the expanded buffer zone and newly designated evacuation areas.
The Hostage Families Forum, representing most captives' relatives, expressed shock over the defence minister’s announcement.
The group stated that Israel’s government has a duty to secure the release of all 59 hostages and must pursue every possible negotiation channel.
“Their lives hang in the balance as more and more disturbing details emerge about the horrific conditions they’re being held in—chained, abused, and in desperate need of medical attention,” the forum said. It urged the Trump administration and other mediators to maintain pressure on Hamas for their release.
“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 added.
Children killed in strike on UN building
Israel continued its strikes on Gaza, with overnight air raids killing 17 people in the southern city of Khan Younis. Another 15 were killed in an attack in northern Gaza on Wednesday, according to hospital officials.
At Nasser Hospital, officials said 12 bodies from an overnight airstrike included five women—one of them pregnant—and two children. The Gaza European Hospital reported receiving five bodies from separate airstrikes.
Later on Wednesday, officials at the Indonesian Hospital said an Israeli strike on a U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) building in Jabaliya refugee camp killed 15 people, including nine children and two women.
The Palestinian Civil Defence reported that the building had previously functioned as a UNRWA clinic but was now housing displaced individuals. It said the attack hit two rooms and that rescue teams retrieved the bodies of seven victims and 12 wounded survivors.
Juliette Touma, a spokesperson for UNRWA, stated that the facility was no longer operating as a clinic but served as a shelter for about 735 displaced people from 160 families.
Despite warnings from UNRWA staff about the dangers after Wednesday’s attack, many families have remained at the site “simply because they have absolutely nowhere else to go,” Touma said, adding that no UNRWA staff were harmed in the strike.
The Israeli military stated that it targeted Hamas operatives in the area, alleging that they were hiding in a “command and control centre” used to coordinate armed activities and functioned as a central meeting place for the group.
Separately, the European Hospital confirmed receiving the bodies of eight people killed in Khan Younis, while three others killed in Zawaida in central Gaza were taken to Al-Aqsa Hospital, according to hospital officials.
The war began on 7 October 2023, when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages.
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Israel’s ongoing offensive has resulted in the deaths of more than 50,000 Palestinians, including hundreds killed since the recent ceasefire ended about two weeks ago, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Israel claims to have killed around 20,000 militants, though it has not provided evidence.